bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Entity Extraction for Clinical Notes, a Comparison Between MetaMap and Amazon Comprehend Medical
Authors: Shah-Mohammadi Fatemeh , Cui Wanting , Finkelstein Joseph
Published: May 2021

Extracting meaningful information from clinical notes is challenging due to their semi- or unstructured format. Clinical notes such as discharge summaries contain information about diseases, their risk factors, and treatment approaches associated to them. As such, it is critical for healthcare quality as well as for clinical research to extract those information and make them accessible to other computerized applications that rely on coded data. In this context, the goal of this paper is to compare the automatic medical entity extraction capacity of two available entity extraction tools: MetaMap (MM) and Amazon Comprehend Medical (ACM). Recall, precision and F-score have been used to evaluate the performance of the tools. The results show that ACM achieves higher average recall, average precision, and average F-score in comparison with MM.
Pseudonymization of PHI Items in German Clinical Reports
Authors: Lohr Christina , Eder Elisabeth , Hahn Udo
Published: May 2021

We describe the adaptation of a non-clinical pseudonymization system, originally developed for a German email corpus, for clinical use. This tool replaces previously identified Protected Health Information (PHI) items as carriers of privacy-sensitive information (original names for people, organizations, places, etc.) with semantic type-conformant, yet, fictitious surrogates. We evaluate the generated substitutes for grammatical correctness, semantic and medical plausibility and find particularly low numbers of error instances (less than 1%) on all of these dimensions.
Disambiguation of Medical Abbreviations in French with Supervised Methods
Authors: Koptient Anaïs , Grabar Natalia
Published: May 2021

Abbreviations are very frequent in medical and health documents but they convey opaque semantics. The association with their expanded forms, like Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for COPD, may help their understanding. Yet, several abbreviations are ambiguous and have expanded forms possible. We propose to disambiguate the abbreviations in order to associate them with the proper expansion for a given context. We treat the problem through supervised categorization. We create reference data and test several algorithms. The descriptors are collected from lexical and syntactic contexts of abbreviations. The training is done on sentences containing expanded forms of abbreviations. The test is done on corpus built manually, in which the meaning of abbreviations is defined according to their contexts. Our approach shows up to 0.895 F-measure on training data and 0.773 on test data.
Automatic Detection of Metadata Errors in a Registry of Clinical Studies Using Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL) Graphs
Authors: Keuchel Daniel , Spicher Nicolai
Published: May 2021

Registries of clinical studies such as ClinicalTrials.gov are an important source of information. However, the process of manually entering metadata is prone to errors which impedes their use and thereby the overall usefulness of the registry. In this work, we propose a generic approach towards detection of errors in the metadata by using the Shapes Constraint Language for defining rule templates covering constraints regarding value type and cardinality. We developed a Python 3 algorithm for the automatic validation of 15 rule instances applied to the whole ClinicalTrials.gov database (355,862 studies; 27th October 2020) resulting in more than 5 million metadata verifications. Our results show a large number of errors in different metadata fields, such as i) missing values, ii) values not coming from a predefined set or iii) wrong cardinalities, can be detected using this approach. Since 2015 approximately 5% of all studies contain one or more errors. In the future, we will apply this technique to other registries and develop more complex rules by focusing on the semantics of the metadata. This could render the possibility of automatically correcting entries, increasing the value of registries of clinical studies.
Introducing a Platform for Integrating and Sharing Stem Cell Research Data
Authors: Borziak Kirill , Parvanova Irena , Finkelstein Joseph
Published: May 2021

Advancements in regenerative medicine have highlighted the need for increased standardization and sharing of stem cell products to help drive these innovative interventions toward public availability and to increase collaboration in the scientific community. Although numerous attempts and numerous databases have been made to store this data, there is still a lack of a platform that incorporates heterogeneous stem cell information into a harmonized project-based framework. The aim of the platform described in this study, ReMeDy, is to provide an intelligent informatics solution which integrates diverse stem cell product characteristics with study subject and omics information. In the resulting platform, heterogeneous data is validated using predefined ontologies and stored in a relational database. In this initial feasibility study, testing of the ReMeDy functionality was performed using published, publically-available induced pluripotent stem cell projects conducted in in vitro, preclinical and intervention evaluations. It demonstrated the robustness of ReMeDy for storing diverse iPSC data, by seamlessly harmonizing diverse common data elements, and the potential utility of this platform for driving knowledge generation from the aggregation of this shared data. Next steps include increasing the number of curated projects by developing a crowdsourcing framework for data upload and an automated pipeline for metadata abstraction. The database is publically accessible at https://remedy.mssm.edu/.
A Data Warehouse Design for Dangerous Pathogen Monitoring
Authors: Dicko Amadou , Barro Seydou Golo , Traore Yaya , Staccini Pascal
Published: May 2021

Emerging diseases are a major public health problem as illustrated by the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. To make the right decisions, public health departments need a decision-making system. In Africa few IT systems have been put in place to help managers of public health in the analysis of their multidisciplinary data. The majority of digital health solutions are operational databases, as well, focused on surveillance activities that do not include the laboratory component. This paper describes the design model and implementation of data warehouse for dangerous pathogen monitoring in a laboratories network. Talend data integration is used to extract data in Excel sheets, transform it and load it into a MySQL database.
Process Mining of Disease Trajectories: A Literature Review
Authors: Kusuma Guntur P. , Kurniati Angelina P. , Rojas Eric , McInerney Ciarán D. , Gale Chris P. , Johnson Owen A.
Published: May 2021

Disease trajectories model patterns of disease over time and can be mined by extracting diagnosis codes from electronic health records (EHR). Process mining provides a mature set of methods and tools that has been used to mine care pathways using event data from EHRs and could be applied to disease trajectories. This paper presents a literature review on process mining related to mining disease trajectories using EHRs. Our review identified 156 papers of potential interest but only four papers which directly applied process mining to disease trajectory modelling. These four papers are presented in detail covering data source, size, selection criteria, selections of the process mining algorithms, trajectory definition strategies, model visualisations, and the methods of evaluation. The literature review lays the foundations for further research leveraging the established benefits of process mining for the emerging data mining of disease trajectories.
Exploring Real-World mHealth Use for Diabetes Consultations: Pros and Pitfalls of a Pragmatic Mixed-Methods Approach
Authors: Bradway Meghan , Årsand Eirik
Published: May 2021

Intervention research is often highly controlled and does not reflect real-world situations. More pragmatic approaches, albeit less controllable and more challenging, offer the opportunity of identifying unexpected factors and connections. As the introduction of mHealth into formal diabetes care settings is relatively new and less often explored from the perspectives of patients and providers together, such an opportunity for exploration should be embraced. In this paper we demonstrate our experiences and results in designing and administering a pragmatic mixed-methods feasibility study to understand the impacts of a diabetes data-sharing system on patients and providers. In doing so, we aim to provide a realistic account of the pros and pitfalls of this approach to diabetes mHealth intervention research.
A Seamless Pseudonymization and Randomization Workflow for REDCap
Authors: Greulich Leonard , Brix Tobias J. , Storck Michael , Dugas Martin
Published: May 2021

The interaction of multiple computer systems during multi-center randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is a hurdle for IT-specialists as well as medical staff. A common workflow for the initial registration of a patient requires the generation of a pseudonym by a pseudonymization service, a manual transmission of the pseudonym to a randomization service, and a manual transfer of the pseudonym and assigned study arm into an electronic data capture (EDC) system. This interaction is often time consuming and error prone due to multiple system changes. Objective of this work is to enhance a commonly used EDC system, Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), as a single source of interaction for multi-center RCTs. This is achieved by providing two modules for a seamless integration of a pseudonymization service, i.e., Mainzelliste, and a randomization service, i.e., RandIMI. Thus, no site-specific system changes are required, which increases time efficiency and reduces errors. From a technical perspective, only authentication credentials and firewall exposure for a single system must be managed. To evaluate the usability of our implementation, the system usability scale was employed. The increase of time efficiency was measured in laboratory conditions by a comparison of the time for patient registrations with and without our modules. An “excellent” usability was shown and an average time reduction by nearly 64 %. Both open-source modules are available from the REDCap Repository of External Modules.
Digital Technology Needs in Maternal Mental Health: A Qualitative Inquiry
Authors: Zingg Alexandra , Carter Laura , Rogith Deevakar , Franklin Amy , Selvaraj Sudhakar , Refuerzo Jerrie , Myneni Sahiti
Published: May 2021

Digital technologies offer many opportunities to improve mental healthcare management for women seeking pre- and-postnatal care. They provide a discrete, practical medium that is well-suited for the sensitive nature of mental health. Women who are more prone to experiencing peripartum depression (PPD), such as those of low-socioeconomic background or in high-risk pregnancies, can benefit the most from such technologies. However, current digital interventions directed towards this population provide suboptimal support, and their responsiveness to end user needs is quite limited. Our objective is to understand the digital terrain of information needs for low-socioeconomic status women with high-risk pregnancies, specifically within the management of their mental health. This qualitative study consists of semi-structured focus groups and interviews with a sample of nineteen patients. A total of eleven core themes emerged from participant comments. Resulting themes highlighted the need for digital technologies that promote personalized care, a sense of community, and improved provider communication.
A Wide Database for Future Studies Aimed at Improving Early Recognition of Candidemia
Authors: Mora Sara , Giacobbe Daniele Roberto , Russo Chiara , Diana Elia , Signori Alessio , Carmisciano Luca , Bassetti Matteo , Giacomini Mauro
Published: May 2021

Invasive candidiasis is associated with high morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients, i.e. patients admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs) or in surgical wards. There are no clinical signs or specific symptoms and even though early diagnosis risk scores and rapid tests are available, none of such strategies has an equally-optimal level of sensitivity and specificity. In the era of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), several clinical studies exploited Machine Learning (ML) models and large database of features to improve the diagnosis accuracy. The main aim of this work is to build a wide dataset which can be exploited to apply ML models to further improve the early recognition of candidemia at the bedside of patients with compatible signs and symptoms.
Semi-Automated Approach to Populate any FHIR Server via POST Method
Authors: Rajput Abdul Mateen
Published: May 2021

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is a specification for exchanging healthcare data electronically. We provide a relatively easy way to populate any FHIR server by using a workflow. A dataset of 25 FHIR JSON files with resource type Bundles, synthetically generated by using Synthea, has been tested for the population of the Vonk Server. The described approach facilitates population of any FHIR server with a KNIME workflow using POST method.
A importância do selênio para a agropecuária e saúde humana
Authors: Prauchner Carlos André
Published: May 2021

O livro "A importância do selênio para a agropecuária e saúde humana" procura apresentar alguns aspectos relacionados às funções que o selênio pode desempenhar em animais e humanos.
Zwischen Kontinuität und Bruch
Authors: Evans Trevor
Published: May 2021

Der 2009 einsetzende Aufschwung in den USA war ungewöhnlich lang, aber relativ schwach. Nach dem Amtsantritt von Trump kam es zu einer leichten Erholung der Investitionen, doch die Unternehmen verwendeten die Erlöse aus den umfangreichen Steuersenkungen überwiegend für Auszahlungen an AktienbesitzerInnen. Die Arbeitslosigkeit ging ab 2010 stetig zurück, allerdings mit einer Verschiebung hin zu schlechter bezahlten Jobs. Die Auswirkungen der Covid-19-Pandemie wurden teilweise durch riesige staatliche Ausgabenprogramme abgefedert, doch die Arbeitslosigkeit unter den weniger qualifizierten ArbeitnehmerInnen stieg stark an, während die massive monetäre Reaktion zu einem beispiellosen Geldsegen für die Reichen führte. Die erste große Initiative der Regierung Biden verlängerte die Arbeitslosenunterstützung und förderte den nationalen Kampf gegen den gesundheitlichen Notstand, scheiterte allerdings an der Erhöhung des nationalen Mindestlohns auf 15 US-Dollar pro Stunde.
Die USA vor, mit und nach Trump
Authors: Redaktion PROKLA
Published: May 2021

Editorial
TETRAZOLIUM AND INTERACTION OF TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT UNDER SEED GERMINATION IN Ormosia arborea (FABACEAE)
Authors: Silva Aparecida Leonir da , Carlos Halisson César Vinci , Rivaben Rodrigo Cyrino , Silva Laércio Junio , Dias Denise Cunha Fernandes dos Santos , Morais Glaucia Almeida de , Lima Liana Baptista de
Published: May 2021

The study aimed to define the best conditions to conduct germination tests for Ormosia arborea seeds and assess the viability of seeds using the tetrazolium test. The germination tests were conducted at temperatures of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C and alternating temperatures of 20-30 °C, in the presence or absence of light. For the tetrazolium test, seeds were immersed in tetrazolium solution 0.075%, at 35 °C for three hours, and then the viability was evaluated. It was verified that the seeds did not present absolute photosensitivity. The tetrazolium test was effective in separating the seeds into two categories concerning seed viability, viable and nonviable. It was concluded that O. arborea seeds germinate in the presence or absence of light in a wide range of temperatures. Temperatures of 25 and 30 ºC and alternating temperatures of 20-30 ºC are indicated to conduct germination tests. The tetrazolium test was effective in assessing seed viability.
A kulturális emlékezet megjelenése a katonai protokollban
Authors: Füleki Réka
Published: May 2021

A kulturális emlékezet szimbólumok, jelek és jelképek azon megjelenése, amely egy nemzet emlékezetét és identitását  generációkra meghatározza. A magyar történelemben számos olyan eseményt találhatunk, amelyek  nemzedékekre meghatározták a magyarságtudat  szimbólumait, jelképeit. A katonák által közvetített  szimbólumokon a 20. század során nem csak jelentős, de  meglehetősen gyors ütemű, dinamikus változások  figyelhetők meg. Az adott korszak politikai  berendezkedésének, ideológiai rendszerének a nemzet  emlékezetére gyakorolt hatása az állami és a nemzeti  ünnepek alkalmával közvetített kulturális értékek  szimbolikájára is kiterjedt.
НОРМАТИВНО-ПРАВОВЕ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВ ГОТЕЛЬНО-РЕСТОРАННОГО І ТУРИСТИЧНОГО БІЗНЕСУ
Authors: Гончар Лілія , Беляк Андрій
Published: May 2021

У статті набуло подальшого розвитку дослідження нормативно-правового регулювання діяльності суб’єктів господарської діяльності у сфері готельно-ресторанного і туристичного бізнесу (сфері гостинності) як важливого адміністративного важелю державного регулювання. У результаті проведеного дослідження систематизовано нормативно-правові акти, якими регулюється діяльність суб’єктів господарської діяльності у сфері гостинності за групами: Закони України, постанови Кабінету міністрів України, національні стандарти України, міжнародні стандарти, інші нормативно-правові акти та надано їх стислу характеристику. Систематизовано зовнішні і внутрішні фактори інтенсифікації готельно-ресторанного і туристичного бізнесу, які вимагають удосконалення нормативно-правового забезпечення. У результаті дослідження визначено, що метою регулювання діяльності підприємств готельно-ресторанного і туристичного бізнесу виступає гармонізація відносин між суб’єктами надання послуг та їх споживачами, що спрямована на узгодження інтересів виробників, споживачів та суспільства і формування сприятливих умов для розвитку підприємств готельно-ресторанного і туристичного бізнесу через створення нормативно-правових актів.
RESPONSE TO THE GROWTH AND RESULTS OF ANGERMAL PLANT (Solanum melongena L.) TO THE DOSAGE OF LIQUID ORGANIC FERTILIZER AND SOLID ORGANIC FERTILIZER
Authors: Al Falaq Fajar
Published: May 2021

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui respon pertumbuhan dan hasil tanaman terung terhadap dosis pupuk organik cair dan pupuk organik padat serta melihat pengaruh interaksi antara pupuk organik cair dan pupuk organik padat. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Desa Suka Rakyat Pondok Kemuning Kecamatan Langsa Baroe Kota Langsa dengan ketinggian tempat ± 10 m dpl dan pH tanah 6,8 (soil tester) dari bulan Agustus sampai Desember 2019. Penelitian ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) pola faktorial, yang terdiri dari 2 faktor, yaitu faktor dosis pupuk organik cair GDM (M) dan faktor pupuk organik padat (P). pemberian dosis pupuk organik cair GDM berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap tinggi tanaman pada umur (21, 35 dan 49),  jumlah daun pada umur (21, 35 dan 49), umur berbunga, jumlah buah, panjang buah, diameter buah, produksi pertanaman, produksi perplot dan produksi perhektar. Hasil terbaik diperoleh pada perlakuan M3 (9 liter/ha). Pengamatan perlakuan pemberian dosis pupuk organik padat berpengaruh sangat nyata terhadap tinggi tanaman pada umur (21, 35 dan 49 HST), jumlah daun pada umur (21, 35 dan 49 HST), umur berbunga, panjang buah, diameter buah, jumlah buah, produksi pertanaman, produksi perplot dan produksi perhektar. Hasil terbaik diperoleh pada perlakuan P3 (30 ton/ha). Hasil terbaik diperoleh pada kombinasi perlakuan M3P3 (dosis pupuk organik cair 9 liter/ha dan dosis pupuk organik padat 30 ton/ha). Untuk meningkatkan pertumbuhan dan hasil tanaman terung disarankan untuk menggunakan pupuk organik cair dengan dosis 9 liter/ha dan dosis pupuk organik padat 30 ton/ha yang dilakukan sesuai pengaplikasian.
Towards manufactured red blood cells for the treatment of inherited anemia
Authors: Pellegrin Stephanie , Severn Charlotte E. , Toye Ashley M.
Published: May 2021

Patients with inherited anemia and hemoglobinopathies (such as sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia) are treated with red blood cell (RBC) transfusions to alleviate their symptoms. Some of these patients may have rare blood group types or go on to develop alloimmune reactions, which can make it difficult to source compatible blood in the donor population. Laboratory-grown RBC represent a particularly attractive alternative which could satisfy an unmet clinical need. The challenge, however, is to produce - from a limited number of stem cells - the 2x1012 RBC required for a standard adult therapeutic dose. Encouraging progress has been made in RBC production from adult stem cells under good manufacturing practice. In 2011, the Douay group conducted a successful proof-of-principle mini-transfusion of autologous manufactured RBC in a single volunteer. In the UK, a trial is planned to assess whether manufactured RBC are equivalent to RBC produced naturally in donors, by testing an allogeneic mini-dose of laboratory-grown manufactured RBC in multiple volunteers. This review discusses recent progress in the erythroid culture field as well as opportunities for further scaling up of manufactured RBC production for transfusion practice.
Strategi Komunikasi Pemasaran Bagi Pelaku Usaha Makanan yang Terkena Dampak COVID-19
Authors: Setyowati Nursha Dwi , Tutiasri Ririn Puspita
Published: May 2021

Abstrack. In the midst of widespread government policies to maintain large-scale social distancing which have an impact on business actors, especially in this study, product business actors experience paralysis which results in decreased income. This requires food business actors to prepare the right strategy at least to stabilize income and maintain or get new consumers. The purpose of this research is to see how the marketing communication strategy for food product businesses has an impact on the impact of COVID-19. Qualitative research methods with a phenomenological approach. Data collection was carried out by interviewing the WhatsApp Call application and making bold observations. The results of this study indicate that food businesses affected by COVID-19 are combining offline to online marketing. On average, online in the Grab and Gojek food delivery application. So as not to leave the shop offline, develop its business by implementing 4C marketing which is able to provide positive results because it prioritizes consumer needs. Keywords: impact of COVID-19, 4C marketing communications, marketing communication strategy 4.0Abstrack. Di tengah merebaknya kebijakan pemerintah untuk menjaga jarak pembatasan sosial berskala besar berimbas bagi  pelaku usaha khususnya dalam penelitian ini ialah pelaku usaha produk makanan mengalami kelumpuhan hingga mengalami penurunan pendapatan. Adanya hal tersebut perlunya pelaku usaha makanan menyiapkan strategi yang tepat setidaknya untuk menstabilkan pendapatan serta mempertahankan maupun mendapat konsumen baru. Tujuan dari penelitian ini  untuk mengetahui bagaimana strategi komunikasi  pemasaran bagi pelaku usaha produk makanan yang terkena dampak COVID-19. Metode penelitian ini kualitatif dengan pendekatan fenomenologi. Pengumpulan data  dilakukan dengan wawancara melalui aplikasi WhatsApp call dan observasi secara daring. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa para pelaku usaha makanan yang terkena dampak COVID-19 mengombinasikan pemasaran offline ke online. Rata-rata secara online bekerjasama dengan aplikasi pesan antar makanan Grab dan Gojek. Sehingga tidak meninggalkan warung offline melainkan mengembangkan usahanya dengan menerapkan pemasaran 4C yang mampu memberikan korelasi yang  positif karena mengutamakan kebutuhan konsumen. Keywords: dampak COVID-19, komunikasi pemasaran 4C, strategi komunikasi pemasaran 4.0
MENINGKATKAN PARTISIPASI PEMILIH MELALUI KOMUNIKASI POLITIK
Authors: Sa'ban L.M. Azhar , Wijaya Andy Arya Maulana , Doli La
Published: May 2021

Abstract: The purpose of this study (1) is to explain how the level of political participation of the community in the 2018 Regional Election in Baubau City (2) to identify any efforts made by the Baubau City Election Commission and political parties in increasing public political participation. Data were collected by analyzing documents, observing, interviewing, and analyzing with qualitative and quantitative descriptive techniques. The results of this study are: (1) The level of community participation in Baubau City is relatively high because if it is accumulated at 69.87%. (2) KPUD communication to increase public political participation is to use mass media to create society following the development of the Election process. (3) Communication of Political Parties to increase political participation of the community is this political campaign is a form of political communication carried out by a person or group of people or political organizations in a certain time to obtain political support from the people.Keywords: Political Communication, Political Participation, Regional Elections Baubau CityAbstrak: Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menjelaskan bagaimana tingkat partisipasi politik masyarakat dalam Pemilihan Kepala Daerah tahun 2018 di Kota Baubau, serta mengidentifikasi upaya-upaya apa saja yang dilakukan KPUD Kota Baubau dan partai politik dalam meningkatkan partisipasi politik masyarakat. Data dikumpulkan dengan analisis dokumen, pengamatan, wawancara, dan dianalisis dengan tehnik deskriptif kualitatif dan Kuantitatif. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah tingkat partispasi masyarakat di Kota Baubau tergolong tinggi dikarenakan jika diakumulasikan sebesar 69,87% %, komunikasi Komisi Pemilihan Umum Daerah (KPUD) Kota Baubau untuk meningkatkan partisipasi politik masyarakat adalah menggunakan media massa untuk menciptakan masyarakat mengikuti perkembangan proses Pemilu, dan Komunikasi Partai Politik untuk meningkatkan partisipasi politik masyarakat adalah kampanye politik ini merupakan bentuk komunikasi politik yang dilakukan oleh seseorang atau sekelompok orang atau organisasi politik dalam waktu tertentu untuk memperoleh dukungan politik dari rakyat.Kata Kunci: Komunikasi Politik, Partisipasi Politik, Pemilukada Baubau
Human-Nature Interactions Through the Lens of Global Pandemics: a Review
Authors: Budiman Ibnu , Kusumaratna R. K.
Published: May 2021

The frequency of pandemics occurrence has increased, from every 200 years in period before the 18th century, to occurring every 10 to 50 years in the last century. The illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, the devastation of forests and other wild places, and rapid human mobility were the driving forces behind the increasing number of diseases leaping from wildlife to humans. This article analyzes present human-nature interactions during COVID-19 and projecting future interactions after the pandemic, based on review on academic literature and reports from international development organizations. We found that global pandemic such as COVID-19 is altering human-nature interactions in three major global ecological issues: wildlife, urban emission, and land use. For wildlife, COVID-19 affects human perception towards wildlife consumption and trade, as well as animal conservation. For land use, COVID-19 makes countries reduced efforts for forest monitoring and conservation. For urban emission, lockdown/mobility limitation and physical or social distancing policies are proven to some extent resulted in better human-nature interactions that reduce environmental problems. Reduced emission occurred from decreased industrial activities and mobilities. But this positive impact on environment may end once COVID-19 ends and human activities return to previous pattern. Therefore, structural change is required to prepare a resilient sustainable development by continuing existing positive human behavior during COVID-19 as a new normal of human-nature relationships. It is proven to reduce emission and if it is continued, it can have long term impacts on climate change mitigation.
Formação continuada em tempos de pandemia da Covid-19: desafios e perspectivas de professores para o ensino pós-pandemia
Authors: Carvalho Floraci Mariano de , Farias André Leite de , Brito Renato de Oliveira
Published: May 2021

O objetivo deste artigo foi analisar as narrativas de cinco professores dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental I da Educação Básica de cinco escolas públicas da Secretaria Municipal de Educação do município de Novo Gama, GO, em relação à formação continuada em tempos de pandemia, aos desafios enfrentados em trabalhar com ambientes virtuais de ensino e aprendizagem e às perspectivas para o ensino no período pós-pandemia da Covid-19. Para tanto, esta pesquisa adotou pressupostos da pesquisa qualitativa. Foram utilizados procedimentos metodológicos da pesquisa documental, bibliográfica e empírica. A pesquisa documental e a investigação bibliográfica possibilitaram contextualizar a formação continuada de professores em tempos de Covid-19. A pesquisa empírica possibilitou identificar os desafios enfrentados pelos professores dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental no município de Novo Gama, GO, ao utilizar ambientes virtuais de ensino e aprendizagem, bem como interpretar, por meio da essência das mensagens dos entrevistados, as perspectivas para o ensino no período pós-pandemia da Covid-19. Nos resultados são apresentadas três categorias de análise de conteúdo: a formação continuada de professores em tempos de pandemia da Covid-19; os desafios enfrentados por professores em trabalhar com ambientes virtuais de ensino e aprendizagem; as perspectivas de professores para o ensino pós-pandemia da Covid-19. A análise realizada possibilitou concluir que, para o sucesso do ensino pós-pandemia, é fundamental que os professores dos anos iniciais da Educação Básica do município de Novo Gama, GO, adquiram novos saberes para o desenvolvimento profissional, por meio da formação continuada, a fim de potencializar as ações em ambientes virtuais de ensino e aprendizagem.
m6AGE: A Predictor for N6-Methyladenosine Sites Identification Utilizing Sequence Characteristics and Graph Embedding-Based Geometrical Information
Authors: Wang Yan , Guo Rui , Huang Lan , Yang Sen , Hu Xuemei , He Kai
Published: May 2021

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is one of the most prevalent RNA post-transcriptional modifications and is involved in various vital biological processes such as mRNA splicing, exporting, stability, and so on. Identifying m6A sites contributes to understanding the functional mechanism and biological significance of m6A. The existing biological experimental methods for identifying m6A sites are time-consuming and costly. Thus, developing a high confidence computational method is significant to explore m6A intrinsic characters. In this study, we propose a predictor called m6AGE which utilizes sequence-derived and graph embedding features. To the best of our knowledge, our predictor is the first to combine sequence-derived features and graph embeddings for m6A site prediction. Comparison results show that our proposed predictor achieved the best performance compared with other predictors on four public datasets across three species. On the A101 dataset, our predictor outperformed 1.34% (accuracy), 0.0227 (Matthew’s correlation coefficient), 5.63% (specificity), and 0.0081 (AUC) than comparing predictors, which indicates that m6AGE is a useful tool for m6A site prediction. The source code of m6AGE is available at https://github.com/bokunoBike/m6AGE.
Identification and Tissue-Specific Characterization of Novel SHOX-Regulated Genes in Zebrafish Highlights SOX Family Members Among Other Genes
Authors: Hoffmann Sandra , Roeth Ralph , Diebold Sabrina , Gogel Jasmin , Hassel David , Just Steffen , Rappold Gudrun A.
Published: May 2021

SHOX deficiency causes a spectrum of clinical phenotypes related to skeletal dysplasia and short stature, including Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, Langer mesomelic dysplasia, Turner syndrome, and idiopathic short stature. SHOX controls chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, bone maturation, and cellular growth arrest and apoptosis via transcriptional regulation of its direct target genes NPPB, FGFR3, and CTGF. However, our understanding of SHOX-related pathways is still incomplete. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms and to better understand the broad phenotypic spectrum of SHOX deficiency, we aimed to identify novel SHOX targets. We analyzed differentially expressed genes in SHOX-overexpressing human fibroblasts (NHDF), and confirmed the known SHOX target genes NPPB and FGFR among the most strongly regulated genes, together with 143 novel candidates. Altogether, 23 genes were selected for further validation, first by whole-body characterization in developing shox-deficient zebrafish embryos, followed by tissue-specific expression analysis in three shox-expressing zebrafish tissues: head (including brain, pharyngeal arches, eye, and olfactory epithelium), heart, and pectoral fins. Most genes were physiologically relevant in the pectoral fins, while only few genes were also significantly regulated in head and heart tissue. Interestingly, multiple sox family members (sox5, sox6, sox8, and sox18) were significantly dysregulated in shox-deficient pectoral fins together with other genes (nppa, nppc, cdkn1a, cdkn1ca, cyp26b1, and cy26c1), highlighting an important role for these genes in shox-related growth disorders. Network-based analysis integrating data from the Ingenuity pathways revealed that most of these genes act in a common network. Our results provide novel insights into the genetic pathways and molecular events leading to the clinical manifestation of SHOX deficiency.
Association of Premature Immune Aging and Cytomegalovirus After Solid Organ Transplant
Authors: Higdon Lauren E. , Gustafson Claire E. , Ji Xuhuai , Sahoo Malaya K. , Pinsky Benjamin A. , Margulies Kenneth B. , Maecker Holden T. , Goronzy Jorg , Maltzman Jonathan S.
Published: May 2021

Immune function is altered with increasing age. Infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) accelerates age-related immunological changes resulting in expanded oligoclonal memory CD8 T cell populations with impaired proliferation, signaling, and cytokine production. As a consequence, elderly CMV seropositive (CMV+) individuals have increased mortality and impaired responses to other infections in comparison to seronegative (CMV–) individuals of the same age. CMV is also a significant complication after organ transplantation, and recent studies have shown that CMV-associated expansion of memory T cells is accelerated after transplantation. Thus, we investigated whether immune aging is accelerated post-transplant, using a combination of telomere length, flow cytometry phenotyping, and single cell RNA sequencing. Telomere length decreased slightly in the first year after transplantation in a subset of both CMV+ and CMV– recipients with a strong concordance between CD57+ cells and short telomeres. Phenotypically aged cells increased post-transplant specifically in CMV+ recipients, and clonally expanded T cells were enriched for terminally differentiated cells post-transplant. Overall, these findings demonstrate a pattern of accelerated aging of the CD8 T cell compartment in CMV+ transplant recipients.
Stochasticity Versus Determinacy in Neurobiology: From Ion Channels to the Question of the “Free Will”
Authors: Braun Hans Albert
Published: May 2021

If one accepts that decisions are made by the brain and that neuronal mechanisms obey deterministic physical laws, it is hard to deny what some brain researchers postulate, such as “We do not do what we want, but we want what we do” and “We should stop talking about freedom. Our actions are determined by physical laws.” This point of view has been substantially supported by spectacular neurophysiological experiments demonstrating action-related brain activity (readiness potentials, blood oxygen level–dependent signals) occurring up to several seconds before an individual becomes aware of his/her decision to perform the action. This report aims to counter the deterministic argument for the absence of free will by using experimental data, supplemented by computer simulations, to demonstrate that biological systems, specifically brain functions, are built on principle randomness, which is introduced already at the lowest level of neuronal information processing, the opening and closing of ion channels. Switching between open and closed states follows physiological laws but also makes use of randomness, which is apparently introduced by Brownian motion – principally unavoidable under all life-compatible conditions. Ion-channel stochasticity, manifested as noise, function is not smoothed out toward higher functional levels but can even be amplified by appropriate adjustment of the system’s non-linearities. Examples shall be given to illustrate how stochasticity can propagate from ion channels to single neuron action potentials to neuronal network dynamics to the interactions between different brain nuclei up to the control of autonomic functions. It is proposed that this intrinsic stochasticity helps to keep the brain in a flexible state to explore diverse alternatives as a prerequisite of free decision-making.
AXL Overexpression in Tumor-Derived Endothelial Cells Promotes Vessel Metastasis in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Chai Zong-Tao , Zhang Xiu-Ping , Ao Jian-Yang , Zhu Xiao-Dong , Wu Meng-Chao , Lau Wan Yee , Sun Hui-Chuan , Cheng Shu-Qun
Published: May 2021

Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is one of the most serious forms of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vessel metastasis and has a poor survival rate. However, the molecular mechanism of PVTT has not yet been elucidated. In this study, the molecular mechanism of AXL expressed in tumor-derived endothelial cells (TECs) in vessel metastasis was investigated. High AXL expression was observed in TECs, but not in the tumor cells of HCC patients with PVTT and this was associated with poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). AXL overexpression was positively associated with CD 31 expression both in vitro and in vivo. AXL promoted the cell proliferation, tube formation, and migration of both TECs and normal endothelial cells (NECs). High expression of AXL in TECs promoted the cell migration, but not the proliferation of HCC cells. Further studies demonstrated that AXL promoted cell migration and tube formation through activation of the PI3K/AKT/SOX2/DKK-1 axis. AXL overexpression in HUVECs promoted tumor growth and liver or vessel metastasis of HCC in xenograft nude mice, which could be counteracted by treatment with R428, an AXL inhibitor. R428 reduced tumor growth and CD 31 expression in HCC in PDX xenograft nude mice. Therefore, AXL over-expression in TECs promotes vessel metastasis of HCC, which indicates that AXL in TECs could be a potential therapeutic target in HCC patients with PVTT.
Micro Metal Additive Manufactured Low-Loss Slotted Rectangular Waveguides Operating at 220-500 GHz
Authors: Wu Zixian , Shi Guanghua , Yu Yang , Wen Xiaozhu , Guo Cheng , Zhang Anxue
Published: May 2021

This paper reports the design, fabrication and measurement techniques for a set of low-loss slotted waveguides. The waveguides are fabricated based on a micro metal additive manufacturing technology. They were fabricated layer by layer in one piece without the need of post-fabrication assembly. As examples, straight waveguides in WR-3.4 (220-330°GHz) and WR-2.2 (330-500°GHz) bands were fabricated and tested. Measurement results show the insertion loss per unit length is 0.0615-0.122°dB/mm and 0.116-0.281°dB/mm, respectively.
Plant-Back Intervals of Imicyafos Based on Its Soil Dissipation and Plant Uptake for Rotational Cultivation of Lettuce and Spinach in Greenhouse
Authors: Lim Da-Jung , Kim Seon-Wook , Kim Young-Eun , Yoon Ji-Hyun , Cho Hyun-Jeong , Shin Byeung-Gon , Kim Hyo-Young , Kim In-Seon
Published: May 2021

The plant-back intervals (PBIs) of imicyafos were investigated for rotational cultivation of lettuce and spinach in greenhouses. Imicyafos dissipation in soil and its plant uptake were evaluated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Bioconcentration ratios (BCRs) were calculated by comparing the residues in plants to the initial residue in soil. The BCRs were used to calculate the soil acceptable residues (SARs) transferable to plants at the Positive List System (PLS) level. The number of days, PBIs for reaching SARs were obtained from the dissipation equation for imicyafos in soil. In soil, imicyafos followed first order dissipation kinetics (R2 = 0.975) with a half-life of 40.8 days. The BCRs ranged from 0.041 to 0.469 in the edible leaf parts of lettuce and 0.006 to 0.134 in those of spinach. The SARs ranged from 0.021 to 0.244 for lettuce and 0.075 to 1.667 mg kg−1 for spinach. The PBIs of imicyafos were estimated to be 213.9 to 357.3 days for lettuce and 100.8 to 283.6 days for spinach. This study suggests at least a minimum 1-year interval after the final application of imicyafos as a management method that complies with the PLS for the rotational cultivation of lettuce and spinach.
Artificial Neural Networks in Agriculture
Authors: Kujawa Sebastian , Niedbała Gniewko
Published: May 2021

Artificial neural networks are one of the most important elements of machine learning and artificial intelligence. They are inspired by the human brain structure and function as if they are based on interconnected nodes in which simple processing operations take place. The spectrum of neural networks application is very wide, and it also includes agriculture. Artificial neural networks are increasingly used by food producers at every stage of agricultural production and in efficient farm management. Examples of their applications include: forecasting of production effects in agriculture on the basis of a wide range of independent variables, verification of diseases and pests, intelligent weed control, and classification of the quality of harvested crops. Artificial intelligence methods support decision-making systems in agriculture, help optimize storage and transport processes, and make it possible to predict the costs incurred depending on the chosen direction of management. The inclusion of machine learning methods in the “life cycle of a farm” requires handling large amounts of data collected during the entire growing season and having the appropriate software. Currently, the visible development of precision farming and digital agriculture is causing more and more farms to turn to tools based on artificial intelligence. The purpose of this Special Issue was to publish high-quality research and review papers that cover the application of various types of artificial neural networks in solving relevant tasks and problems of widely defined agriculture.
Carbon Accumulation in Arable Soils: Mechanisms and the Effect of Cultivation Practices and Organic Fertilizers
Authors: Gerke Jörg
Published: May 2021

The organic carbon content of soils is a key parameter of soil fertility. Moreover, carbon accumulation in soils may mitigate the increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration. The principles of carbon accumulation in arable soils are well known. The inclusion of clover/alfalfa/grass within the rotation is a central instrument to increase soil organic carbon. In addition, the regular application of rotted or composted farmyard manure within the rotation can increase soil organic carbon contents much more than the separate application of straw and cattle slurry. Humic substances, as a main stable part of soil organic carbon, play a central role in the accumulation of soil carbon. A major effect of compost application on soil carbon may be the introduction of stable humic substances which may bind and stabilize labile organic carbon compounds such as amino acids, peptides, or sugars. From this point of view, a definite soil carbon saturation index may be misleading. Besides stable composts, commercially available humic substances such as Leonardite may increase soil organic carbon contents by stabilization of labile C sources in soil.
Floral and Pollen Traits of Moringa oleifera Lam. and Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori Provide Reproductive Adaptations for Arid Conditions
Authors: Vaknin Yiftach , Eisikowitch Dan , Mishal Adina
Published: May 2021

Our study attempted to elucidate the significance of floral and pollen traits of the highly nutritious tropical trees Moringa oleifera and Moringa peregrina for their reproductive success under arid conditions. We found that the pollen grains of both species were immersed in a pollenkitt that constituted ~60% of the pollen. Successful pollination was achieved by large bees inserting the pollen into a narrow stylar tube. We found that, upon removal of the pollenkitt, approximately 65% fewer pollen grains penetrated the stylar tube for both species. The pollenkitt protected against heat and desiccation, while removing the pollenkitt resulted in significantly reduced levels of the viability of pollen grains, especially in M. oleifera, and significantly reduced levels of germinability in both species. The stylar tube provided high protection for pollen grains against heat and desiccation even when the pollenkitt was removed. Chemical analysis of pollenkitts of the two species revealed a waxy blend of 21 hydrocarbon compounds, in which n-alkanes constituted >90% of the compounds and their identity corresponded to known plant and animal hydrocarbons, associated with protection against heat and water stress. We concluded that, under arid conditions, the reproductive success of both Moringa species is potentially enhanced by their unique floral and pollen traits. This supports the prospect of cultivating M. oleifera and Moringa peregrina as food crops in arid regions across the globe.
Breeding Strategies to Optimize Effective Population Size in Low Census Captive Populations: The Case of Gazella cuvieri
Authors: Ojeda-Marín Candela , Cervantes Isabel , Moreno Eulalia , Goyache Félix , Gutiérrez Juan Pablo
Published: May 2021

Small-sized animal populations can undergo significant loss of genetic variability that can lead to their extinction. Therefore, studies on animal breeding have focused on mating systems for minimizing the disappearance of genetic variability. The main objective of this study was to compare, using computer simulations, the performance of different breeding schemes to limit the loss of genetic diversity in small-sized populations. This objective was achieved by monitoring the evolution of the effective population size obtained by 23 strategies throughout 20 generations in two populations of Gazella cuvieri. The scenarios were designed with different assumptions, in both reference subpopulations, regarding: the use of parents coancestry or offspring coancestry, the use of their increases or the coefficients themselves, and the number of males and females involved. Computations were performed using an experimental module of Endog v4.9 developed for this purpose. The results of the study showed that strategies for minimizing the coancestry of the parents were better in the short term; however, these strategies were worse in the long term. Minimizing the average coancestry of the offspring was a better approach in the long term. Nevertheless, in both populations, the best results were obtained when both the coancestry of the parents and the coancestry of the offspring were weighted at 5% each and neither males nor females were assumed to contribute to the next generation. In any case, not all strategies had the same evolutionary pattern throughout generations in both populations. The current results show that neither traditional nor new strategies have any general use. Therefore, it is important to carefully test these strategies before applying them to different populations with different breeding needs under different conditions, such as different generation intervals, and different natural breeding systems such as monogamy or polygyny.