bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
APPLICATION ANALYSIS OF OPERATING SYSTEM TEACHING BASED ON CASE TEACHING METHODEXAMPLE, OPERATING SYSTEM, TEACHING
Authors: GUO FENG
Published: November 2021

It is of great significance to improve the quality of computer teaching and the quality of students to instantiate every definition and algorithm that is difficult to understand in the operating system. This kind of instantiation teaching will make students realize the sense of achievement of operating system learning, and help to cultivate students' innovation ability and practical application ability.
THE REFORM AND EXPLORATION OF MICROCONTROLLER CURRICULUM SYSTEM COMBINING THEORY TEACHING WITH EXPERIMENT AND PRACTICE TEACHING
Authors: GUO YAN , ZHANG LIAN , YANG JING , HU XIAO-QIAN
Published: November 2021

In view of the paper, combining with the institutions of higher learning the electricity class, specialized single-chip computer technology course teaching reform and practice of cultivating students' innovative entrepreneurial ability of the new course teaching system, effectively the organic combination of classroom teaching, experiment teaching and training, outstanding teaching feedback function, to realize the integration of teaching, experiment and competition teaching mode. This can not only improve the teaching quality of SCM course, but also cultivate students' engineering practice ability.
EXPLORATION ON THE TEACHING DESIGN OF HEALTH MANAGEMENT COURSE
Authors: LI MIAO-JING , LIU YONG-GUI , ZHAO ZI-XUAN , HE XU-HUA , ZHAO HAN-BING , ZHANG YI , MEI TING
Published: November 2021

In the era of public health emergencies, this paper puts forward the ideas and programs of Ideological and political teaching design of health management course. The design is based on many events occurred in health emergencies as cases, at the same time, it constructs the collection of Ideological and political elements of the course, organically integrates with the professional knowledge of health management, and carries out the problem-oriented hybrid teaching, so as to better guide students to actively think about the ideological and moral significance contained in each case and internalize it into their own values when learning professional knowledge and to help them shape the correct "Three Outlooks" and ultimately achieve the teaching and education goal of cultivating the interdisciplinary health management professionals with both ability and political integrity.
RESEARCH ON IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL CONSTRUCTION OF FUTURES INVESTMENT COURSE IN HYBRID TEACHING MODE
Authors: LI YING , LANG LEI-LEI , LIU LI
Published: November 2021

This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of online teaching, combines the theoretical knowledge of futures investment course with the unique characteristics of actual combat experience, and puts forward the idea of implementing hybrid teaching mode in futures investment course. Practical teaching is close to real investment and will encounter various risk challenges, so it is imperative to carry out course thinking and politics in futures investment. This paper focuses on how to integrate the course thought and politics into the mixed teaching mode in the teaching of futures investment. Finally, the expected results of this teaching method are summarized.
THE INDUSTRIAL STRUCTURE REFORM IN CHINA—A STUDY ON PROVINCIAL ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION
Authors: \LIU YANG\ , \ LIN LIAN-YING \
Published: November 2021

Electricity consumption is a good general indicator of industrial advancement and wealth. Electricity consumption is closely associated with industrial structure. The proportion of industrial electricity consumption manifests the process of the industrial transformation. The more optimized of the industrial structure, the higher the efficiency of the electricity consumption.
EXPLORATION ON THE TEACHING INNOVATION OF INTERDISCIPLINARY THINKING OF APPRECIATION OF PIANO ART
Authors: WANG XIAO-TANG
Published: November 2021

Appreciation of piano art, as a public elective and general educational course for all undergraduates in comprehensive universities, aims to enhance all-round appreciation level for students, help them build confidence and team spirit, and keep the forever passion for music, art and life as well. In my teaching for students who come from different colleges with different majors, I hope that I can interpret piano, human and passion through the knowledge and the way of thinking which they got from their professional learning. Moreover, I hope this course is able to provide them with some inspiration. This article is going to explore the reform on interdisciplinary thinking during the teaching of Appreciation of piano art, in terms of piano and architecture, piano and machinery, and piano and language.
INVESTIGATING A GENRE-BASED APPROACH TO ENGLISH NEWS WRITING IN COLLEGE
Authors: MAO JIA-DAI
Published: November 2021

Stemmed from Generic Structure Potential (GSP) Theory, Genre-based Teaching Approach (GTA) is a teaching method based on genre analysis. This study intends to apply GTA to News Writing Course in a Chinese university, hoping to construct a more effective genre-analysis-based teaching mode. Using quantitative methods, this one-semester long study was conducted with two English News Writing classes involving 58 sophomores as the participants. Data were collected through pre- and post-class tests. The result shows that GTA is effective in improving students’ ability of genre analysis and news writing.
RESEARCH ON THE IMPLEMENTATION SCHEME OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL BLENDED TEACHING MODE OF MATHEMATICS COURSE ORIENTED BY COMPETENCE CULTIVATION
Authors: PEI HONG-MEI , ZHANG MEI-LI
Published: November 2021

In order to meet the demand of talent training in the new era, this paper puts forward a multi-dimensional blended teaching mode of mathematics course which is oriented by competence cultivation. With the help of the intelligent teaching platform and tools, this paper gives the implementation scheme of the mixed teaching in three dimensions of pre-class, in-class and after-class in mathematics teaching, which provides theoretical and practical exploration for the course's competence cultivation objectives.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSIC CREATION IN MEFISTOFELE
Authors: YANG LING , YUE SHENG-DONG
Published: November 2021

Successful opera art cannot be separated from literary elements, but also from the support of music. Opera scripts make up plots with words. Compared with emotional resonance directly from the senses, music can plasticize the abstract literary image from the perspective of sensibility. An excellent opera work can effectively promote the development of the drama plot through music design, and deepen the conflict of drama with the "ingenious leverage" of music. This article intends to analyze the music design of the famous opera, Mefistofele, and try to explore the fusion effect of music and drama, and its role in promoting the plot. After its birth at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, western opera art quickly received widespread attention and affection. The reason for its success is mainly due to its fusion of the essence of classical music and drama literature. Because of this, there have always been debates about the importance of music and drama in the long history of opera art development. In the book Opera as Drama, Joseph Kerman, a well-known contemporary musicologist, firmly believes that "opera is first and foremost a drama to show conflicts, emotions and thoughts among people through actions and events. In this process, music assumes the most important performance responsibilities."[1] Objectively speaking, these two elements with very different external forms and internal structures play an indispensable role in opera art. A classic opera is inseparable from the organic integration of music and drama, otherwise it will be difficult to meet the aesthetic experience expected by the audience. On the stage, it is necessary to present wonderful audio-visual enjoyment, and at the same time to pursue thematic expressions with deep thoughts, but the expression of emotions in music creation must be reflected through its independent specific language rather than separated from its own consciousness. Only through the superb expression of music can conflicts, thoughts and emotions be fully reflected, or it may be reduced to empty preaching. Joseph Kerman once pointed out that "the true meaning of opera is to carry drama with music". He believes that opera expresses thoughts and emotions through many factors such as scenes, actions, characters, plots and so on. However, the carrier of these elements lies in music. Only under the guidance and support of music can the characters, thoughts and emotions of the drama be truly portrayed. Indeed, opera scripts fictional plots with words, and music presents abstract literary image specifically and recreationally, allowing more potentially complex emotions that are difficult to express in words to be perceived by the audience in the flow of notes, thereby resonate with people.[2] Mefistofele, which this article intends to explore, is such an opera that is extremely exemplary in the organic integration of music and drama.
IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL THEORIES TEACHING IN COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS ENGLISH TEACHING
Authors: CHEN WEI
Published: November 2021

Comprehensive Business English course is a comprehensive language practice skills course, which integrates English language knowledge, communication ability, cultural background knowledge and business knowledge. By imitating English materials in different kinds of business and cultural scenes, students can get familiar with English expression habits, cultivate English critical thinking and master fundamental English oral expression ability; by learning different subjects, students' vocabulary and discourse reading comprehension ability are to be enhanced and the basic discourse expression ability and a good foundation for the third and fourth grade English learning are to be improved. Our university, Shandong Institute of Business and Technology, is a university of finance and economics with the striking characteristic of wealth management. We have the integration and development of students’ business English. Comprehensive business English is a compulsory course for the first and second year of business English majors, with small classes about 30 students in each. The courses for English majors are all business-related, most of them aim to work in business-related fields or study for master degree domestically or overseas after graduation. Business-English teaching aims to cultivate students with strengthened basic English listening, speaking, reading, writing and translation skills, relevant theories and knowledge of linguistics, economics, management and other studies, business operation mode and norms, good moral cultivation, social adaptability and innovation ability, and finally and most possibly the Applied Business English professionals. This paper, designed on the study and introduction of the present ideological and political theories teaching of Comprehensive Business English, is to discuss about the application of ideological and political teaching in the very basic course for Business English majors. By finding the ideological and political teaching topics and resources, it is to discover the proper, positive and critical means of applying theories in practice.
KNOWLEDGE MAP, HOTSPOTS AND FRONTIERS OF ECOLOGICAL INNOVATION
Authors: LIU TENG-FEI , FAN CHENG-LIN
Published: November 2021

China is facing the "ecological deficit" caused by environmental pollution and shortage of energy resources. Ecological innovation, as the integration point of innovation-driven development strategy and sustainable development strategy, provides a feasible path for achieving a win-win situation for the economy, society and the environment. Based on the knowledge graph research method, this article reviews and visualizes 949 SSCI-sourced ecological innovation literature from 1998 to 2019. The results of the study found: The knowledge base of ecological innovation research is composed of different research fields such as innovation economics, environmental economics, strategic management, and industrial organization. The research focus has shifted from focusing solely on environmental pollution to focusing on energy conservation, emission reduction and climate change, from initially focusing on the importance of technological innovation in ecological innovation, to focusing on the impact of institutional pressure on ecological innovation. Climate change, low-carbon development and typological research are frontier issues in the field of ecological innovation.
Who Are Belgrade’s Most Desired Allies?
Authors: Styczyńska Natasza
Published: November 2021

Serbia presents itself as a country skillfully balancing between the European Union (EU), Russia, and Asia, trying to maintain good political and economic relations with the biggest players on the international arena. The Covid-19 pandemic and China’s media-publicized assistance to Serbia has affected the perception of which countries are seen as Belgrade’s true allies. At the same time, Serbia remains a EU candidate country (membership negotiations officially started in 2014) and the European Union is not only Serbian biggest trading partner, but also the biggest donor. The main aim of the article is to compare the distinctive meaning that EU membership and cooperation with non-EU countries (mainly China and Russia) has for Serbian political parties, taking into account that the Covid-19 pandemic and the ‘vaccine diplomacy’ influenced the Serbian public discourse and perception on who is the Belgrade’s most trustful partner.
The Beginning of Bulgaria-Iran Inter-state Relations: Facts and Challenges
Authors: Orbetsov Angel
Published: November 2021

Cultural bonds between the peoples of Bulgaria and Iran have been vibrant throughout the ages but it was not until Bulgaria’s Liberation from the Ottoman rule in 1878 that we can talk about inter-state relations. This article reveals the main bilateral developments in their initial 25-year period, challenging some existing assumptions. The establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1897 is correlated with the launching of official contacts between both heads of state much earlier. Iranian consular presence in the Principality of Bulgaria, directed by Iran’s Embassy in Constantinople, had a fairly long record but lacked consistency. Consular cases provoked disputes over the rights and privileges of Iranian subjects residing in Bulgaria and an attempt to solve them by a mutual arrangement. The first Iranian diplomatic agency in Sofia functioned in 1898-1902 and contributed to the preparation of the historic visit of Iranian monarch Mozaffar ed-Din Shah to Bulgaria in September 1900.
Deep convolutional neural network-based scatterer density and resolution estimators in optical coherence tomography
Authors: Seesan Thitiya , Abd El-Sadek Ibrahim , Mukherjee Pradipta , Zhu Lida , Oikawa Kensuke , Miyazawa Arata , Shen Larina Tzu-Wei , Matsusaka Satoshi , Buranasiri Prathan , Makita Shuichi , Yasuno Yoshiaki
Published: November 2021

We present deep convolutional neural network (DCNN)-based estimators of the tissue scatterer density (SD), lateral and axial resolutions, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and effective number of scatterers (ENS, the number of scatterers within a resolution volume). The estimators analyze the speckle pattern of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image in estimating these parameters. The DCNN is trained by a large number (1,280,000) of image patches that are fully numerically generated in OCT imaging simulation. Numerical and experimental validations were performed. The numerical validation shows good estimation accuracy as the root mean square errors were 0.23%, 3.65%, 3.58%, 3.79%, and 6.15% for SD, lateral and axial resolutions, SNR, and ENS, respectively. The experimental validation using scattering phantoms (Intralipid emulsion) shows reasonable estimations. Namely, the estimated SDs were proportional to the Intralipid concentrations, and the average estimation errors of lateral and axial resolutions were 1.36% and 0.68%, respectively. The scatterer density estimator was also applied to an in vitro tumor cell spheroid, and a reduction in the scatterer density during cell necrosis was found.
Two plus one is almost three: a fast approximation for multi-view deconvolution
Authors: Hüpfel Manuel , Fernández Merino Manuel , Bennemann Johannes , Takamiya Masanari , Rastegar Sepand , Tursch Anja , Holstein Thomas W. , Nienhaus G. Ulrich
Published: November 2021

Multi-view deconvolution is a powerful image-processing tool for light sheet fluorescence microscopy, providing isotropic resolution and enhancing the image content. However, performing these calculations on large datasets is computationally demanding and time-consuming even on high-end workstations. Especially in long-time measurements on developing animals, huge amounts of image data are acquired. To keep them manageable, redundancies should be removed right after image acquisition. To this end, we report a fast approximation to three-dimensional multi-view deconvolution, denoted 2D+1D multi-view deconvolution, which is able to keep up with the data flow. It first operates on the two dimensions perpendicular and subsequently on the one parallel to the rotation axis, exploiting the rotational symmetry of the point spread function along the rotation axis. We validated our algorithm and evaluated it quantitatively against two-dimensional and three-dimensional multi-view deconvolution using simulated and real image data. 2D+1D multi-view deconvolution takes similar computation time but performs markedly better than the two-dimensional approximation only. Therefore, it will be most useful for image processing in time-critical applications, where the full 3D multi-view deconvolution cannot keep up with the data flow.
Temperature dependent terahertz spectroscopy and imaging of orthotopic brain gliomas in mouse models
Authors: Wu Limin , Wang Yuye , Liao Bin , Zhao Lu , Chen Kai , Ge Meilan , Li Haibin , Chen Tunan , Feng Hua , Xu Degang , Yao Jianquan
Published: November 2021

Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and imaging were used to differentiate brain gliomas in a
mouse model at different temperatures. The THz spectral difference
between brain glioma and normal brain tissues at -10°C and
20°C was obtained in the 0.4–2.53 THz range. The
absorption coefficient and refractive index values varied with both
temperature and frequency. The fresh ex vivo brain glioma tissues were
mapped by THz attenuated total reflection (ATR) imaging at 2.52 THz in
the temperature range from -20°C to 35°C. Compared with
a histological examination, THz-ATR imaging could better display the
tumor areas at a higher temperature. And the averaged reflectivity of
normal tissue was increased with the increase of temperature, whereas
the tumor region showed a decreasing trend. Thus, the larger THz
imaging difference between glioma and normal tissues could be
obtained. Moreover, in vivo brain gliomas in mouse
models could also be differentiated clearly from normal brain tissues
using THz-ATR imaging at 2.52 THz under room temperature. The THz-ATR
images corresponded well with those of visual and hematoxylin and
eosin (H&E) stained images. Therefore, this pilot study
demonstrated that temperature dependence THz spectroscopy and imaging
are helpful to the brain gliomas in mouse model detection.
Purcell enhanced coupling of nanowire quantum emitters to silicon photonic waveguides
Authors: Mukhundhan Nitin , Ajay Akhil , Bissinger Jochen , Finley Jonathan J. , Koblmüller Gregor
Published: November 2021

We design a quantum dot (QD) embedded in a vertical-cavity photonic nanowire (NW), deterministically integrated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide (WG), as a novel quantum light source in a quantum photonic integrated circuit (QPIC). Using a broadband QD emitter, we perform finite-difference time domain simulations to systematically tune key geometrical parameters and to explore the coupling mechanisms of the emission to the NW and WG modes. We find distinct Fabry-Perot resonances in the Purcell enhanced emission that govern the outcoupled power into the fundamental TE mode of the SOI-WG. With an optimized geometry that places the QD emitter in a finite NW in close proximity to the WG, we obtain peak outcoupling efficiencies for polarized emission as high as eighty percent.
Effects of adapting luminance and CCT on appearance of white and degree of chromatic adaptation, part II: extremely high adapting luminance
Authors: Huang Zheng , Wei Minchen
Published: November 2021

In part I of this work [Opt. Express, 27 ,9276, (2019) 10.1364/OE.27.009276], we carried out an experiment to investigate the effects of adapting luminance and correlated color temperature (CCT) on degree of chromatic adaptation. Under the highest white luminance Lw of 900 cd/m2, an incomplete chromatic adaptation was still found under the 2700 and 3500 K adapting conditions. This motivated us to further increase the adapting luminance to investigate whether a complete chromatic adaptation cannot happen under a low adapting CCT (e.g., 2700 K). In this experiment, we investigated the degrees of chromatic adaptation under 12 adapting conditions, comprising four CCT (i.e., 2700, 3200, 4000, and 6500 K) and three white luminance levels (i.e., Lw of 1200, 2100, and 3000 cd/m2), by asking human observers to adjust the color appearance of a stimulus to the whitest. Such luminance levels of the adapting conditions were never investigated in the past and are assumed to introduce a complete chromatic adaptation. The results clearly show that an incomplete chromatic adaptation still happened under the adapting condition having a CCT of 2700 or 3200 K, though the luminance was so high. The adapting luminance and CCT were found to jointly affect the degree of chromatic adaptation, with a higher degree of adaptation under a higher adapting CCT or luminance level. When the adapting CCT was low (i.e., 2700 or 3200 K), the increase of adapting luminance was found to be able to increase the degree of adaptation more effectively. These findings suggest the necessity to revise the chromatic adaptation transforms (CAT) and color appearance models (CAM) for better characterizing the color appearance of stimulus under different adapting conditions.
Deep-learning-based deflectometry for freeform surface measurement
Authors: Dou Jinchao , Wang Daodang , Yu Qiuye , Kong Ming , Liu Lu , Xu Xinke , Liang Rongguang
Published: November 2021

We propose a deep-learning based deflectometric method for freeform surface measurement, in which a deep neural network is devised for freeform surface reconstruction. Full-scale skip connections are adopted in the network architecture to extract and incorporate multi-scale feature maps from different layers, enabling the accuracy and robustness of the testing system to be greatly enhanced. The feasibility of the proposed method is numerically and experimentally validated, and its excellent performance in terms of accuracy and robustness is also demonstrated. The proposed method provides a feasible way to achieve the general measurement of freeform surfaces while minimizing the measurement errors due to noise and system geometry calibration.
Fresnel lens optical fiber tweezers to evaluate the vitality of single algae cells
Authors: Asadollahbaik Asa , Kumar Aashutosh , Heymann Michael , Giessen Harald , Fick Jochen
Published: November 2021

Dunaliella salina algae are trapped and studied using dual-fiber optical tweezers based on nano-imprinted Fresnel lenses. Different forms of cyclic motion of living algae inside the optical trap are observed and analyzed. A characteristic periodic motion in the 0–35 Hz frequency region reflects the algal flagella activity and is used to estimate the algal vitality, by photomovement. The trap stiffness and optical forces are measured for the case of a dead algal cell. It is shown that the dual-fiber optical tweezers can be used to study the vitality (or viability) property of single cells, a property that is essential and can be scaled up to other applications, such as sperm analysis for fertility tests.
Bayesian calibration of a stochastic, multiscale agent-based model for predicting in vitro tumor growth
Authors: Lima Ernesto A. B. F. , Faghihi Danial , Philley Russell , Yang Jianchen , Virostko John , Phillips Caleb M. , Yankeelov Thomas E.
Published: November 2021

Hybrid multiscale agent-based models (ABMs) are unique in their ability to simulate individual cell interactions and microenvironmental dynamics. Unfortunately, the high computational cost of modeling individual cells, the inherent stochasticity of cell dynamics, and numerous model parameters are fundamental limitations of applying such models to predict tumor dynamics. To overcome these challenges, we have developed a coarse-grained two-scale ABM (cgABM) with a reduced parameter space that allows for an accurate and efficient calibration using a set of time-resolved microscopy measurements of cancer cells grown with different initial conditions. The multiscale model consists of a reaction-diffusion type model capturing the spatio-temporal evolution of glucose and growth factors in the tumor microenvironment (at tissue scale), coupled with a lattice-free ABM to simulate individual cell dynamics (at cellular scale). The experimental data consists of BT474 human breast carcinoma cells initialized with different glucose concentrations and tumor cell confluences. The confluence of live and dead cells was measured every three hours over four days. Given this model, we perform a time-dependent global sensitivity analysis to identify the relative importance of the model parameters. The subsequent cgABM is calibrated within a Bayesian framework to the experimental data to estimate model parameters, which are then used to predict the temporal evolution of the living and dead cell populations. To this end, a moment-based Bayesian inference is proposed to account for the stochasticity of the cgABM while quantifying uncertainties due to limited temporal observational data. The cgABM reduces the computational time of ABM simulations by 93% to 97% while staying within a 3% difference in prediction compared to ABM. Additionally, the cgABM can reliably predict the temporal evolution of breast cancer cells observed by the microscopy data with an average error and standard deviation for live and dead cells being 7.61±2.01 and 5.78±1.13, respectively.
A confirmation bias in perceptual decision-making due to hierarchical approximate inference
Authors: Lange Richard D. , Chattoraj Ankani , Beck Jeffrey M. , Yates Jacob L. , Haefner Ralf M.
Published: November 2021

Making good decisions requires updating beliefs according to new evidence. This is a dynamical process that is prone to biases: in some cases, beliefs become entrenched and resistant to new evidence (leading to primacy effects), while in other cases, beliefs fade over time and rely primarily on later evidence (leading to recency effects). How and why either type of bias dominates in a given context is an important open question. Here, we study this question in classic perceptual decision-making tasks, where, puzzlingly, previous empirical studies differ in the kinds of biases they observe, ranging from primacy to recency, despite seemingly equivalent tasks. We present a new model, based on hierarchical approximate inference and derived from normative principles, that not only explains both primacy and recency effects in existing studies, but also predicts how the type of bias should depend on the statistics of stimuli in a given task. We verify this prediction in a novel visual discrimination task with human observers, finding that each observer’s temporal bias changed as the result of changing the key stimulus statistics identified by our model. The key dynamic that leads to a primacy bias in our model is an overweighting of new sensory information that agrees with the observer’s existing belief—a type of ‘confirmation bias’. By fitting an extended drift-diffusion model to our data we rule out an alternative explanation for primacy effects due to bounded integration. Taken together, our results resolve a major discrepancy among existing perceptual decision-making studies, and suggest that a key source of bias in human decision-making is approximate hierarchical inference.
Crowd control: Reducing individual estimation bias by sharing biased social information
Authors: Jayles Bertrand , Sire Clément , Kurvers Ralf H. J. M.
Published: November 2021

Cognitive biases are widespread in humans and animals alike, and can sometimes be reinforced by social interactions. One prime bias in judgment and decision-making is the human tendency to underestimate large quantities. Previous research on social influence in estimation tasks has generally focused on the impact of single estimates on individual and collective accuracy, showing that randomly sharing estimates does not reduce the underestimation bias. Here, we test a method of social information sharing that exploits the known relationship between the true value and the level of underestimation, and study if it can counteract the underestimation bias. We performed estimation experiments in which participants had to estimate a series of quantities twice, before and after receiving estimates from one or several group members. Our purpose was threefold: to study (i) whether restructuring the sharing of social information can reduce the underestimation bias, (ii) how the number of estimates received affects the sensitivity to social influence and estimation accuracy, and (iii) the mechanisms underlying the integration of multiple estimates. Our restructuring of social interactions successfully countered the underestimation bias. Moreover, we find that sharing more than one estimate also reduces the underestimation bias. Underlying our results are a human tendency to herd, to trust larger estimates than one’s own more than smaller estimates, and to follow disparate social information less. Using a computational modeling approach, we demonstrate that these effects are indeed key to explain the experimental results. Overall, our results show that existing knowledge on biases can be used to dampen their negative effects and boost judgment accuracy, paving the way for combating other cognitive biases threatening collective systems.
Dissecting cascade computational components in spiking neural networks
Authors: Jia Shanshan , Xing Dajun , Yu Zhaofei , Liu Jian K.
Published: November 2021

Finding out the physical structure of neuronal circuits that governs neuronal responses is an important goal for brain research. With fast advances for large-scale recording techniques, identification of a neuronal circuit with multiple neurons and stages or layers becomes possible and highly demanding. Although methods for mapping the connection structure of circuits have been greatly developed in recent years, they are mostly limited to simple scenarios of a few neurons in a pairwise fashion; and dissecting dynamical circuits, particularly mapping out a complete functional circuit that converges to a single neuron, is still a challenging question. Here, we show that a recent method, termed spike-triggered non-negative matrix factorization (STNMF), can address these issues. By simulating different scenarios of spiking neural networks with various connections between neurons and stages, we demonstrate that STNMF is a persuasive method to dissect functional connections within a circuit. Using spiking activities recorded at neurons of the output layer, STNMF can obtain a complete circuit consisting of all cascade computational components of presynaptic neurons, as well as their spiking activities. For simulated simple and complex cells of the primary visual cortex, STNMF allows us to dissect the pathway of visual computation. Taken together, these results suggest that STNMF could provide a useful approach for investigating neuronal systems leveraging recorded functional neuronal activity.
Maternal starvation primes progeny response to nutritional stress
Authors: Voo Kelly , Ching Jeralyn Wen Hui , Lim Joseph Wee Hao , Chan Seow Neng , Ng Amanda Yunn Ee , Heng Jasmine Yi Ying , Lim Shiao See , Pek Jun Wei
Published: November 2021

Organisms adapt to environmental changes in order to survive. Mothers exposed to nutritional stresses can induce an adaptive response in their offspring. However, the molecular mechanisms behind such inheritable links are not clear. Here we report that in Drosophila, starvation of mothers primes the progeny against subsequent nutritional stress. We found that RpL10Ab represses TOR pathway activity by genetically interacting with TOR pathway components TSC2 and Rheb. In addition, starved mothers produce offspring with lower levels of RpL10Ab in the germline, which results in higher TOR pathway activity, conferring greater resistance to starvation-induced oocyte loss. The RpL10Ab locus encodes for the RpL10Ab mRNA and a stable intronic sequence RNA (sisR-8), which collectively repress RpL10Ab pre-mRNA splicing in a negative feedback mechanism. During starvation, an increase in maternally deposited RpL10Ab and sisR-8 transcripts leads to the reduction of RpL10Ab expression in the offspring. Our study suggests that the maternally deposited RpL10Ab and sisR-8 transcripts trigger a negative feedback loop that mediates intergenerational adaptation to nutritional stress as a starvation response.
Histone deacetylase 8 interacts with the GTPase SmRho1 in Schistosoma mansoni
Authors: Pagliazzo Lucile , Caby Stéphanie , Lancelot Julien , Salomé-Desnoulez Sophie , Saliou Jean-Michel , Heimburg Tino , Chassat Thierry , Cailliau Katia , Sippl Wolfgang , Vicogne Jérôme , Pierce Raymond J.
Published: November 2021

Background

Schistosoma mansoni histone deacetylase 8 (SmHDAC8) has elicited considerable interest as a target for drug discovery. Invalidation of its transcripts by RNAi leads to impaired survival of the worms in infected mice and its inhibition causes cell apoptosis and death. To determine why it is a promising therapeutic target the study of the currently unknown cellular signaling pathways involving this enzyme is essential. Protein partners of SmHDAC8 were previously identified by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) cDNA library screening and by mass spectrometry (MS) analysis. Among these partners we characterized SmRho1, the schistosome orthologue of human RhoA GTPase, which is involved in the regulation of the cytoskeleton. In this work, we validated the interaction between SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 and explored the role of the lysine deacetylase in cytoskeletal regulation.

Methodology/principal findings

We characterized two isoforms of SmRho1, SmRho1.1 and SmRho1.2. Co- immunoprecipitation (Co-IP)/Mass Spectrometry (MS) analysis identified SmRho1 partner proteins and we used two heterologous expression systems (Y2H assay and Xenopus laevis oocytes) to study interactions between SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 isoforms.

To confirm SmHDAC8 and SmRho1 interaction in adult worms and schistosomula, we performed Co-IP experiments and additionally demonstrated SmRho1 acetylation using a Nano LC-MS/MS approach. A major impact of SmHDAC8 in cytoskeleton organization was documented by treating adult worms and schistosomula with a selective SmHDAC8 inhibitor or using RNAi followed by confocal microscopy.

Conclusions/significance

Our results suggest that SmHDAC8 is involved in cytoskeleton organization via its interaction with the SmRho1.1 isoform. The SmRho1.2 isoform failed to interact with SmHDAC8, but did specifically interact with SmDia suggesting the existence of two distinct signaling pathways regulating S. mansoni cytoskeleton organization via the two SmRho1 isoforms. A specific interaction between SmHDAC8 and the C-terminal moiety of SmRho1.1 was demonstrated, and we showed that SmRho1 is acetylated on K136. SmHDAC8 inhibition or knockdown using RNAi caused extensive disruption of schistosomula actin cytoskeleton.
A distribution model for Glossina brevipalpis and Glossina austeni in Southern Mozambique, Eswatini and South Africa for enhanced area-wide integrated pest management approaches
Authors: de Beer Chantel J. , Dicko Ahmadou H. , Ntshangase Jerome , Moyaba Percy , Taioe Moeti O. , Mulandane Fernando C. , Neves Luis , Mdluli Sihle , Guerrini Laure , Bouyer Jérémy , Vreysen Marc J. B. , Venter Gert J.
Published: November 2021

Background

Glossina austeniandGlossina brevipalpis(Diptera: Glossinidae) are the sole cyclical vectors of African trypanosomes in South Africa, Eswatini and southern Mozambique. These populations represent the southernmost distribution of tsetse flies on the African continent. Accurate knowledge of infested areas is a prerequisite to develop and implement efficient and cost-effective control strategies, and distribution models may reduce large-scale, extensive entomological surveys that are time consuming and expensive. The objective was to develop a MaxEnt species distribution model and habitat suitability maps for the southern tsetse belt of South Africa, Eswatini and southern Mozambique.

Methodology/Principal findings

The present study used existing entomological survey data ofG.austeniandG.brevipalpisto develop a MaxEnt species distribution model and habitat suitability maps. Distribution models and a checkerboard analysis indicated an overlapping presence of the two species and the most suitable habitat for both species were protected areas and the coastal strip in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa and Maputo Province, Mozambique. The predicted presence extents, to a small degree, into communal farming areas adjacent to the protected areas and coastline, especially in the Matutuíne District of Mozambique. The quality of the MaxEnt model was assessed using an independent data set and indicated good performance with high predictive power (AUC > 0.80 for both species).

Conclusions/Significance

The models indicated that cattle density, land surface temperature and protected areas, in relation with vegetation are the main factors contributing to the distribution of the two tsetse species in the area. Changes in the climate, agricultural practices and land-use have had a significant and rapid impact on tsetse abundance in the area. The model predicted low habitat suitability in the Gaza and Inhambane Provinces of Mozambique, i.e., the area north of the Matutuíne District. This might indicate that the southern tsetse population is isolated from the main tsetse belt in the north of Mozambique. The updated distribution models will be useful for planning tsetse and trypanosomosis interventions in the area.
An aromatic imidazoline derived from chloroquinoline triggers cell cycle arrest and inhibits with high selectivity the Trypanosoma cruzi mammalian host-cells infection
Authors: Cuevas-Hernández Roberto I. , Girard Richard M. B. M. , Krstulović Luka , Bajić Miroslav , Silber Ariel Mariano
Published: November 2021

Trypanosoma cruzi is a hemoflagellated parasite causing Chagas disease, which affects 6–8 million people in the Americas. More than one hundred years after the description of this disease, the available drugs for treating the T. cruzi infection remain largely unsatisfactory. Chloroquinoline and arylamidine moieties are separately found in various compounds reported for their anti-trypanosoma activities. In this work we evaluate the anti-T. cruzi activity of a collection of 26 “chimeric” molecules combining choroquinoline and amidine structures. In a first screening using epimastigote forms of the parasite as a proxy for the clinically relevant stages, we selected the compound 7-chloro-4-[4-(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenoxy]quinoline (named here as A6) that performed better as an anti-T. cruzi compound (IC50 of 2.2 ± 0.3 μM) and showed a low toxicity for the mammalian cell CHO-K1 (CC50 of 137.9 ± 17.3 μM). We initially investigated the mechanism of death associated to the selected compound. The A6 did not trigger phosphatidylserine exposure or plasma membrane permeabilization. Further investigation led us to observe that under short-term incubations (until 6 hours), no alterations of mitochondrial function were observed. However, at longer incubation times (4 days), A6 was able to decrease the intracellular Ca2+, to diminish the intracellular ATP levels, and to collapse mitochondrial inner membrane potential. After analysing the cell cycle, we found as well that A6 produced an arrest in the S phase that impairs the parasite proliferation. Finally, A6 was effective against the infective forms of the parasite during the infection of the mammalian host cells at a nanomolar concentration (IC50(tryps) = 26.7 ± 3.7 nM), exhibiting a selectivity index (SI) of 5,170. Our data suggest that A6 is a promising hit against T. cruzi.
Starvation at the larval stage increases the vector competence of Aedes aegypti females for Zika virus
Authors: Herd Christie S. , Grant DeAna G. , Lin Jingyi , Franz Alexander W. E.
Published: November 2021

Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus which typically presents itself as febrile-like symptoms in humans but can also cause neurological and pregnancy complications. The transmission cycle of mosquito-borne arboviruses such as ZIKV requires that various key tissues in the female mosquito get productively infected with the virus before the mosquito can transmit the virus to another vertebrate host. Following ingestion of a viremic blood-meal from a vertebrate, ZIKV initially infects the midgut epithelium before exiting the midgut after blood-meal digestion to disseminate to secondary tissues including the salivary glands. Here we investigated whether smaller Ae. aegypti females resulting from food deprivation as larvae exhibited an altered vector competence for blood-meal acquired ZIKV relative to larger mosquitoes. Midguts from small ‘Starve’ and large ‘Control’ Ae. aegypti were dissected to visualize by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) the midgut basal lamina (BL) as physical evidence for the midgut escape barrier showing Starve mosquitoes with a significantly thinner midgut BL than Control mosquitoes at two timepoints. ZIKV replication was inhibited in Starve mosquitoes following intrathoracic injection of virus, however, Starve mosquitoes exhibited a significantly higher midgut escape and population dissemination rate at 9 days post-infection (dpi) via blood-meal, with more virus present in saliva and head tissue than Control by 10 dpi and 14 dpi, respectively. These results indicate that Ae. aegypti developing under stressful conditions potentially exhibit higher midgut infection and dissemination rates for ZIKV as adults, Thus, variation in food intake as larvae is potentially a source for variable vector competence levels of the emerged adults for the virus.
Peptide vaccines designed with the aid of immunoinformatic against Caseous Lymphadenitis promotes humoral and cellular response induction in mice
Authors: Droppa-Almeida Daniela , da Silva Glenda Amaral , Gaspar Lívia Maria do Amorim Costa , Pereyra Beatriz Benny Sungaila , Nascimento Roberto José Meyer , Borsuk Sibele , Franceschi Elton , Padilha Francine Ferreira
Published: November 2021

Caseous Lymphadenitis (CLA) is a chronic disease that affects also small ruminants. CLA is caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and is responsible for high economic losses due to the formation of superficial and visceral granulomas, the latter is considered as asymptomatic CLA causing high levels of dissemination. Several vaccination strategies, in which the use of synthetic peptides stands out. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the protective potential of peptide vaccines designed to determine the immunodominant epitopes of CP40 against CLA in mice. The animals were divided into eight groups separated in controls (G1—PBS, G2—Saponin and G9—rCP40) and experimental (G3—pep1, G4- pep2, G5-pep3, G6-pep4, G7-pep5 and G8-pep6), these were vaccinated on days 0 and 15 by a subcutaneous route. 60 days after the first immunization, all animals were challenged with C. pseudotuberculosis. On days 0, 15, 60, and 120 after the first immunization, blood samples were taken to measure immunoglobulins. On the same day of the challenge, the splenocytes were isolated and assayed for the production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-17, and IL-10. After vaccinations, the animals were challenged and all of them were affected by the disease which led to their death. The G6 and G8 groups provided 10% protection and the G7 provided 20%. The G3 and G4 groups provided 30% and 40% protection respectively. The peptides showed the production of Total IgG antibodies and cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α), indicating a possible activation of the Th1 type response. However, groups G3, G5, G6, and G8 showed production of IL-17. None of the study groups showed IL-10 production. The immunogenicity of the peptides was not enough to protect these animals and it is believed that the use of adjuvants based on PAMPs may improve the immune response offered by these peptides.
Gendered power dynamics and threats to sexual and reproductive autonomy among adolescent girls and young adult women: A cross-sectional survey in three urban settings
Authors: Decker Michele R. , Wood Shannon N. , Byrne Meagan E. , Yao-N’dry Nathalie , Thiongo Mary , Gichangi Peter , M. OlaOlorun Funmilola , Koffi Alain K. , Radloff Scott , Ahmed Saifuddin , O. Tsui Amy
Published: November 2021

Background

Gendered economic and social systems can enable relational power disparities for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), and undercut autonomy to negotiate sex and contraceptive use. Less is known about their accumulation and interplay. This study characterizes relationship power imbalances (age disparity, intimate partner violence [IPV], partner-related fear, transactional sex, and transactional partnerships), and evaluates associations with modern contraceptive use, and sexual/reproductive autonomy threats (condom removal/“stealthing”, reproductive coercion, ability to refuse sex, and contraceptive confidence).

Methods

Cross-sectional surveys were conducted with unmarried, currently-partnered AGYW aged 15–24 recruited via respondent-driven sampling in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (n = 555; 2018–19), Nairobi, Kenya (n = 332; 2019), and Lagos, Nigeria (n = 179; 2020). Descriptive statistics, Venn diagrams, and multivariate regression models characterized relationship power imbalances, and associations with reproductive autonomy threats and contraceptive use.

Findings

Relationship power imbalances were complex and concurrent. In current partnerships, partner-related fears were common (50.4%Nairobi; 54.5%Abidjan; 55.7%Lagos) and physical IPV varied (14.5%Nairobi; 22.1%Abidjan; 9.6%Lagos). IPV was associated with reproductive coercion in Nairobi and Abidjan. Age disparate relationships undermined confidence in contraception in Nairobi. In Nairobi and Lagos, transactional sex outside the relationship was associated with condom stealthing.

Interpretation

AGYW face simultaneous gendered power differentials, against the backdrop of gendered social and economic systems. Power imbalances were linked with coercive sexual/reproductive health experiences which are often underrecognized yet represent a potent link between gendered social systems and poor health. Pregnancy prevention efforts for AGYW must address reproductive autonomy threats, and the relational power imbalances and broader gendered systems that enable them.