bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of retinol and α-tocopherol supplementation on photoreceptor and retinal ganglion cell apoptosis in diabetic rats model
Authors: Ichsan Andi Muhammad , Bukhari Agussalim , Lallo Subehan , Miskad Upik Anderiani , Dzuhry Andi Afdal , Islam Itzar Chaidir , Muhiddin Habibah Setyawati
Published: June 2022

Background

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes. Retinol and α-tocopherol of diabetic models prevent the damage of photoreceptor and retinal ganglion cells (RGC) caused by hyperglycemia.

Objective

This study aims to examine the effect of retinol and α-tocopherol on photoreceptor and RGC densities and the expression of caspase-3 and -7 on the retinal layers of the diabetic rat model.

Methods

Alloxan 150 mg/kg body weight single dose was used to develop animal models, which were separated into eight groups. These consist of one group without intervention (group 1), one positive control with only induced alloxan (group 2), and others receiving retinol (group 3 and 6), α-tocopherol (group 4 and 7), or their combination (group 5 and 8). Furthermore, histopathological examination was performed using Hematoxylin–Eosin staining to evaluate the photoreceptor and RGC densities, while immunohistochemistry staining evaluated the caspase-3 and -7 expressions.

Results

In the treatment group, the highest and lowest densities were identified in diabetic rats given α-tocopherol (group 7) and retinol (group 3) respectively. The caspase-3 and -7 expression showed that the group given α-tocopherol (group 7) had the lowest value.

Conclusion

In diabetic rats, retinol and α-tocopherol compounds maintained densities and prevented photoreceptor and RGC death. However, α-tocopherol was more promising than retinol or combinations in the prevention of retinal cells apoptosis.
Habit-like attentional bias is unlike goal-driven attentional bias against spatial updating
Authors: Hong Injae , Kim Min-Shik
Published: June 2022

Statistical knowledge of a target’s location may benefit visual search, and rapidly understanding the changes in regularity would increase the adaptability in visual search situations where fast and accurate performance is required. The current study tested the sources of statistical knowledge—explicitly-given instruction or experience-driven learning—and whether they affect the speed and location spatial attention is guided. Participants performed a visual search task with a statistical regularity to bias one quadrant (“old-rich” condition) in the training phase, followed by another quadrant (“new-rich” condition) in the switching phase. The “instruction” group was explicitly instructed on the regularity, whereas the “no-instruction” group was not. It was expected that the instruction group would rely on goal-driven attention (using regularities with explicit top-down knowledge), and the no-instruction group would rely on habit-like attention (learning regularities through repetitive experiences) in visual search. Compared with the no-instruction group, the instruction group readjusted spatial attention following the regularity switch more rapidly. The instruction group showed greater attentional bias toward the new-rich quadrant than the old-rich quadrant; however, the no-instruction group showed a similar extent of attentional bias to two rich quadrants. The current study suggests that the source of statistical knowledge can affect attentional allocation. Moreover, habit-like attention, a different type of attentional source than goal-driven attention, is relatively implicit and inflexible.
On the surplus accuracy of data-driven energy quantification methods in the residential sector
Authors: Wederhake Lars , Wenninger Simon , Wiethe Christian , Fridgen Gilbert
Published: June 2022

Increasing trust in energy performance certificates (EPCs) and drawing meaningful conclusions requires a robust and accurate determination of building energy performance (BEP). However, existing and by law prescribed engineering methods, relying on physical principles, are under debate for being error-prone in practice and ultimately inaccurate. Research has heralded data-driven methods, mostly machine learning algorithms, to be promising alternatives: various studies compare engineering and data-driven methods with a clear advantage for data-driven methods in terms of prediction accuracy for BEP. While previous studies only investigated the prediction accuracy for BEP, it yet remains unclear which reasons and cause–effect relationships lead to the surplus prediction accuracy of data-driven methods. In this study, we develop and discuss a theory on how data collection, the type of auditor, the energy quantification method, and its accuracy relate to one another. First, we introduce cause–effect relationships for quantifying BEP method-agnostically and investigate the influence of several design parameters, such as the expertise of the auditor issuing the EPC, to develop our theory. Second, we evaluate and discuss our theory with literature. We find that data-driven methods positively influence cause–effect relationships, compensating for deficits due to auditors’ lack of expertise, leading to high prediction accuracy. We provide recommendations for future research and practice to enable the informed use of data-driven methods.
Comparative performance of hybrid generations reveals the potential application of F2 hybrids in upland cotton
Authors: CHEN Liangliang , TANG Huini , ZHANG Xuexian , QI Tingxiang , GUO Liping , SHAHZAD Kashif , WANG Hailin , QIAO Xiuqin , ZANG Rong , ZHANG Meng , WU Jianyong , XING Chaozhu
Published: June 2022

Background

The utilization of heterosis has greatly improved the productivity of cotton worldwide. However, a major constraint for the large-scale promotion of F1 hybrid cotton is artificial emasculation and pollination. This study proposed the potential utilization of F2 hybrids to improve upland cotton production through a comparative evaluation of hybrid generations.

Results

Eight upland cotton varieties were analyzed and crosses were made according to NCII incomplete diallel cross-breeding design in two cotton belts of China. Variance analysis revealed significant differences in agronomic, yield, and fiber quality in both generations and environments. The broad-sense heritability of agronomic and yield traits was relatively higher than quality traits. Furthermore, the narrow-sense heritability of some traits was higher in F2 than in the F1 generation in both cotton belts. Overall, parental lines Zhong901, ZB, L28, and Z98 were observed with maximum combining ability while combinations with strong special combining ability were ZB × DT, L28 × Z98, and ZB × 851. The yield traits heterosis was predominant in both generations. However, the level of heterosis was altered with trait, hybrid combination, generation, and environment. Interestingly, L28 × Z98 performed outstandingly in Anyang. Its lint yield (LY) was 24.2% higher in F1 and 11.6% in F2 than that of the control Ruiza 816. The performance of SJ48 × Z98 was excellent in Aral which showed 36.5% higher LY in F1 and 10.9% in F2 than control CCRI 49. Further results revealed most hybrid combinations had shown a low level of heterosis for agronomic and fiber quality traits in both generations. Comparatively, ZB × DT and L28 × Z98 showed hybrid vigor for multiple traits in both generations and cotton belts. It is feasible to screen strong heterosis hybrid combinations with fine fiber in early generations. In the two environments, the correlation of some traits showed the same trend, and the correlation degree of Anyang site was higher than that of Aral site, and the correlation of some traits showed the opposite trend. According to the performance of strong heterosis hybrid combinations in different environments, the plant type, yield and fiber traits associated with them can be improved according to the correlation.

Conclusions

Through comparative analysis of variance, combining ability, and heterosis in F1 and F2 hybrids in different cotton belts, this study proposed the potential utilization of F2 hybrids to improve upland cotton productivity in China.
A positive feedback regulatory loop, SA-AtNAP-SAG202/SARD1-ICS1-SA, in SA biosynthesis involved in leaf senescence but not defense response
Authors: Wang Yaxin , Liu Bin , Hu Youzhen , Gan Su-Sheng
Published: June 2022

Salicylic acid (SA) is an important plant hormone that regulates defense responses and leaf senescence. It is imperative to understand upstream factors that regulate genes of SA biosynthesis. SAG202/SARD1 is a key regulator for isochorismate synthase 1 (ICS1) induction and SA biosynthesis in defense responses. The regulatory mechanism of SA biosynthesis during leaf senescence is not well understood. Here we show that AtNAP, a senescence-specific NAC family transcription factor, directly regulates a senescence-associated gene named SAG202 as revealed in yeast one-hybrid and in planta assays. Inducible overexpreesion of AtNAP and SAG202 lead to high levels of SA and precocious senescence in leaves. Individual knockout mutants of sag202 and ics1 have markedly reduced SA levels and display a significantly delayed leaf senescence phenotype. Furthermore, SA positively feedback regulates AtNAP and SAG202. Our research has uncovered a unique positive feedback regulatory loop, SA-AtNAP-SAG202-ICS1-SA, that operates to control SA biosynthesis associated with leaf senescence but not defense response.
Deep Learning for Cancer Symptoms Monitoring on the Basis of Electronic Health Record Unstructured Clinical Notes
Authors: Lindvall Charlotta , Deng Chih-Ying , Agaronnik Nicole D. , Kwok Anne , Samineni Soujanya , Umeton Renato , Mackie-Jenkins Warren , Kehl Kenneth L. , Tulsky James A. , Enzinger Andrea C.
Published: June 2022

PURPOSE

Symptoms are vital outcomes for cancer clinical trials, observational research, and population-level surveillance. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are valuable for monitoring symptoms, yet there are many challenges to collecting PROs at scale. We sought to develop, test, and externally validate a deep learning model to extract symptoms from unstructured clinical notes in the electronic health record.

METHODS

We randomly selected 1,225 outpatient progress notes from among patients treated at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between January 2016 and December 2019 and used 1,125 notes as our training/validation data set and 100 notes as our test data set. We evaluated the performance of 10 deep learning models for detecting 80 symptoms included in the National Cancer Institute's Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) framework. Model performance as compared with manual chart abstraction was assessed using standard metrics, and the highest performer was externally validated on a sample of 100 physician notes from a different clinical context.

RESULTS

In our training and test data sets, 75 of the 80 candidate symptoms were identified. The ELECTRA-small model had the highest performance for symptom identification at the token level (ie, at the individual symptom level), with an F1 of 0.87 and a processing time of 3.95 seconds per note. For the 10 most common symptoms in the test data set, the F1 score ranged from 0.98 for anxious to 0.86 for fatigue. For external validation of the same symptoms, the note-level performance ranged from F1 = 0.97 for diarrhea and dizziness to F1 = 0.73 for swelling.

CONCLUSION

Training a deep learning model to identify a wide range of electronic health record–documented symptoms relevant to cancer care is feasible. This approach could be used at the health system scale to complement to electronic PROs.
Telecommuting Pedagogies
Authors: Hong Renyi
Published: June 2022

This article examines the early telecommuting discourse of the 1980s and 1990s, understanding it as a pedagogical context for white plasticity, an ecological project in which racial privilege is protected through the transformation of homes and inhabitants. Rationalized initially as a crisis of adjustment, pedagogies of telecommuting were disseminated largely to upper-middle-class white professionals to build a “telecommuting personality,” a subjectivity that was also meant to buffer them from the growing precarious nature of jobs. Not content to focus simply on work, however, telecommuting gurus took occasion to urge the enhancement of relationships between partners, families, and communities. The home office was core to this imaginary. Convertible, modular, ergonomic home offices that can be changed to suit the needs of the home's many inhabitants were said to yield more integrated and rounded personalities that would radiate outward, creating emotionally mature children and stronger community bonds. Emerging at a moment when “telecommuting” condensed the political stakes of digital labor, this strand of discourse reveals how working from home was appropriated to ensure the protection of white plasticity—the racialized capability of adaptation that was to be passed as inheritance from parents to progeny.
Debility, Negative Affect, Mobility
Authors: Sánchez Cruz Jorge
Published: June 2022

This article proposes that the undocumented as a valence of difference expands on queer studies’ turn to a subjectless critique and how debility and negativity become part of the discussion of an objectless critique. In examining Alan Pelaez Lopez's “sick in ‘america,’” Julio Salgado's oeuvre, and Yosimar Reyes's #UndocuJoy, it is argued that undocumented queer subjects living under a landscape of debility and a climate of negative affect diagnose contemporary tactics of debility deployed as frames of illegality, securitization, and biopoliticization, and simultaneously reflect how the production of negative affect leads to feelings of nonbelonging, of being off. This article goes on to suggest that debility is conjoined to negative affect, arguing that in spite a continual state of debility and a dispersion of negativity, the undocumented thrive in the practices of the everyday, presented here as another lens of thinking mobility, a recalibrator to the debility/capacity/(dis)ability imaginary.
Mobilizing Stories of Illness in Digital Contexts: A Critical Approach to Narrative, Voice, and Visibility
Authors: Giaxoglou Korina
Published: June 2022

Illness stories have been celebrated as a resource for giving patients voice from the active position of the wounded storyteller. The proliferating research on illness stories, however, has often reproduced a reductionist approach to narrative as a window to subjective views and experiences based on a largely underdeveloped and essentialized notion of voice. Critics of the over-celebration of narrative have called for caution toward the use of personal stories, pointing to the need to situate constructions of the narrative self in their social, cultural, and political contexts. This article discusses a new type of illness stories that has emerged in digital contexts and that is characterized by the use of illness for producing various forms of economic and social value. Using small stories and affective positioning as its analytic lens, the article examines the specific case of story design, curation, and sharing of the COVID-19 diagnosis of actor Idris Elba in March 2020. As the article argues, the illness experience is mobilized in small stories online as a resource for authenticating the self in line with conventional modes of sharing, blurring the lines between the personal voice and the public visibility of storytelling. The article contributes to the critical study of the mobilization of stories in digital contexts.
Intersex Surgery between the Gaze and the Subject
Authors: Morland Iain
Published: June 2022

This essay critiques the practice of childhood genital surgery for intersex/disorders of sex development. The essay draws on the sociology of perception and poststructuralist theory (in particular Jacques Lacan) to analyze the subject position offered by surgery as a function of the impersonal gaze that precedes subjectivity. Even though early surgery appears to be justified on the basis that children have an innate need to see sexual difference in order to identify as female or male, this argument in favor of surgery collapses when we recognize that sexual difference is not a thing that can be seen by any individual but a spacing between bodies that is apparent only to the gaze. The essay suggests additionally that intersex studies can collaborate with trans* studies to interrogate medicalization and consider sexual difference as multidimensional rather than binary.
Intersex's New Materialism
Authors: Goss Katie
Published: June 2022

Intersex thinkers and activists, queer-feminist science studies, and new materialist initiatives have argued that sex's complex materiality undermines the rigid binaries imposed by essentialist biology and exceeds the malleability of the body constructed as entirely open to intervention and control in biopower. Through a close reading of Lucia Puenzo's XXY, and the realist depiction of the impasses and rich potentialities surrounding intersex embodiment it puts forth, this article explores how intersex becomes the locus for expansive ontoepistemological schemas. Suffused with a rich visual language foregrounding the subject's plastic arts and the collective bodies of the ecosystem, XXY situates the expansive significance of intersex not only as an integral and intelligible form of bio-logical embodiment but also as a generative and even generalizable mode of more-than-binary corporeality.
SAIBR: a simple, platform-independent method for spectral autofluorescence correction
Authors: Rodrigues Nelio T. L. , Bland Tom , Borrego-Pinto Joana , Ng KangBo , Hirani Nisha , Gu Ying , Foo Sherman , Goehring Nathan W.
Published: June 2022

Biological systems are increasingly viewed through a quantitative lens that demands accurate measures of gene expression and local protein concentrations. CRISPR/Cas9 gene tagging has enabled increased use of fluorescence to monitor proteins at or near endogenous levels under native regulatory control. However, owing to typically lower expression levels, experiments using endogenously tagged genes run into limits imposed by autofluorescence (AF). AF is often a particular challenge in wavelengths occupied by commonly used fluorescent proteins (GFP, mNeonGreen). Stimulated by our work in C. elegans, we describe and validate Spectral Autofluorescence Image Correction By Regression (SAIBR), a simple platform-independent protocol and FIJI plug-in to correct for autofluorescence using standard filter sets and illumination conditions. Validated for use in C. elegans embryos, starfish oocytes and fission yeast, SAIBR is ideal for samples with a single dominant AF source; it achieves accurate quantitation of fluorophore signal, and enables reliable detection and quantification of even weakly expressed proteins. Thus, SAIBR provides a highly accessible low-barrier way to incorporate AF correction as standard for researchers working on a broad variety of cell and developmental systems.
An interview with Andreas Prokop
Authors: Grewal Seema
Published: June 2022

Andreas Prokop is a Professor of Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology at The University of Manchester, UK. His research group studies the mechanisms of axon homeostasis and degeneration, using primary neurons of the fruit fly Drosophila as a model system. In April 2022, Andreas was awarded the 2022 British Society of Developmental Biology (BSDB) Wolpert Medal, which recognizes an outstanding individual who has made major contributions to the teaching and communication of developmental biology in the UK. We chatted to Andreas at the BSDB Spring Meeting, where he was presented with the medal, to find out more about his career, his research and his valuable contributions to the teaching and advocation of developmental biology.
Breaking Sitting Time with Physical Activity Increases Energy Expenditure but Does Not Alter Postprandial Metabolism in Girls
Authors: SMALLCOMBE JAMES W. , BIDDLE GREGORY J. H. , SLATER TOMMY , THACKRAY ALICE E. , DUNSTAN DAVID W. , BARRETT LAURA A. , TOLFREY KEITH
Published: June 2022

Purpose

Young people spend a substantial proportion of their time at school sedentary; therefore, this setting represents an important target for interventions aimed at displacing sedentary time with physical activity. This study aimed to examine the postprandial metabolic effects of breaking sedentary time by accumulating walking and repeated bouts of nonambulatory standing during simulated school days in inactive adolescent girls.

Methods

Seventeen girls (mean ± SD = 12.8 ± 0.4 yr) completed two 3-d experimental conditions. On days 1 and 2 of the standing + walking (STD-WLK) experimental trial, participants interrupted sedentary time by completing 4 × 10 min bouts of self-paced walking and accumulated 18 × 5 min standing bouts during each simulated school day. On day 3 of STD-WLK, participants attended school as normal with no additional physical activity or standing prescribed. On all 3 d of the control condition (CON), participants attended school as normal with no physical activity intervention. On days 2 and 3 of both STD-WLK and CON, a baseline capillary blood sample was provided to determine fasting [TAG] and [glucose]. Participants then consumed a standardized breakfast (0 h) and lunch (4.7 h), and blood samples were provided postprandially at 2.7, 5.3, and 7.3 h for [TAG] and [glucose].

Results

Energy expenditure was 28% (95% confidence interval = 8% to 52%) higher during school hours on day 1 and day 2 during STD-WLK compared with CON (2171 vs 1693 kJ; effect size = 0.89, P = 0.008). However, no reduction of fasting or postprandial [TAG] or [glucose] was observed on day 2 or day 3 (P ≥ 0.245).

Conclusions

Two consecutive days of breaking prolonged sitting with self-paced walking and intermittent standing had no meaningful effect on postprandial metabolism in adolescent girls.
Data on antibiograms and resistance genes of Enterobacterales isolated from ready-to-eat street food of Ambato, Ecuador
Authors: Tubón Jessica , Barragán-Fonseca Gabriela , Lalaleo Liliana , Calero-Cáceres William
Published: June 2022

Foodborne pathogens represent a significant cause of negative impacts on human health and the economy worldwide. Unfortunately, information about epidemiological insights in Latin American countries is scarce. The consumption of ready-to-eat street food in Ecuador is extensive, and information about the presence of foodborne pathogens, their virulence factors, and antimicrobial resistance is negligible. This data includes the occurrence, phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles, and antibiotic resistance genes of Enterobacterales isolated from ready-to-eat street food in Ambato, central Ecuador during 2020 and 2021. The most common genera detected were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., and Cronobacter spp. Agar disk diffusion assays were performed to determine their phenotypic resistance. The presence of antibiotic resistance genes conferring resistance against colistin, β-Lactams, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, and amphenicols was detected via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification.
­­­Mechanical behavior of textile reinforced alkali-activated mortar based on fly ash, metakaolin and ladle furnace slag
Authors: Arce Andres , Azdejkovic Lazar , Miranda de Lima Luiz , Papanicolaou Catherine G. , Triantafillou Thanasis C.
Published: June 2022

The need for repair and maintenance has become dominant in the European construction sector. This, combined with the urge to decrease CO2 emissions, has resulted in the development of lower carbon footprint repair solutions such as textile reinforced mortars (TRM) based on alkali-activated materials (AAM). Life cycle studies indicate that AAM CO2 savings, when compared to Portland cement, range from 80% to 30%. Furthermore, in this study, recycled aggregates were considered with the aim to promote a circular economy mindset. AAM mortars formulation based on fly ash, ladle furnace slag and metakaolin were tested for compressive and flexural strength. Three out of all formulations were chosen for an analysis on the potential of these mortars to be used for TRM applications. Tensile and shear bond tests, combined with a concrete substrate, were executed as indicators of the TRM effectiveness. Scanning electron microscopy and chemical analysis based on energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to interpret the results and reveal the reasons behind the different level of performance of these composites. Results indicated that TRM based on high calcium fly ash are unsuitable for structural strengthening applications due to low bond between matrix and/or substrate and fibers. Metakaolin-based TRM showed good performance both in terms of tensile strength and bond capacity, which suggests potential as a repair mortar.
Intellectual disability in the children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)
Authors: Madley-Dowd Paul , Thomas Richard , Boyd Andy , Zammit Stanley , Heron Jon , Rai Dheeraj
Published: June 2022

Background: Intellectual disability (ID) describes a neurodevelopmental condition involving impaired cognitive and functional ability. Here, we describe a multisource variable of ID using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). 

Methods: The multisource indicator variable for ID was derived from i) IQ scores less than 70 measured at age 8 and at age 15, ii) free text fields from parent reported questionnaires, iii) school reported provision of educational services for individuals with a statement of special educational needs for cognitive impairments, iv) from relevant READ codes contained in GP records, iv) international classification of disease diagnoses contained in electronic hospital records and hospital episode statistics and v) recorded interactions with mental health services for ID contained within the mental health services data set. A case of ID was identified if two or more sources indicated ID. A second indicator, labelled as “probable ID”, was created by relaxing the cut off in IQ scores to be less than 85. An indicator variable for known causes of ID was also created to aid in aetiological studies where ID with a known cause may need to be excluded. 

Results: 158 of 14,370 participants (1.10%) were indicated as having ID by two or more sources and 449 (3.12%) were indicated as having probable ID when the criteria for IQ scores was relaxed to less than 85. There were 476 participants (3.31%) with 1 or fewer sources of available information on ID; these participants had their multisource variable set to missing. The number of cases of ID with known cause was 31 (0.22%).  

Conclusions: The multisource variable of ID can be used in future analyses on ID in ALSPAC children.
An Empirical Comparison of Rank-Based Surrogate Weights in Additive Multiattribute Decision Analysis
Authors: Burk Roger Chapman , Nehring Richard M.
Published: June 2022

Many methods for creating surrogate swing weights based only on the rank order of the attributes are proposed to avoid the cost and effort of eliciting weights in multiattribute decision analysis. We explore empirically how well eight different methods perform based on a large sample of real-world elicited weights. We use the Euclidean distance from the elicited weights to judge the quality of the surrogate weights as well as three other metrics. The sum reciprocal method gives results, on average, statistically closest to the elicited weights for all metrics used. The equal ratio method using a fixed ratio of 0.716 performs just as well on three of the metrics. The rank sum method, the simplest and one of the oldest methods, performs generally next best. The rank order centroid method, which does well in simulation studies, performs relatively poorly in this evaluation using real-world data.
Model Pelatihan Inovasi Manajemen Biaya Untuk Ketangguhan Usaha UMKM Konstruksi
Authors: Utomo Christiono , Rohman Mohammad Arif , Indriyani Retno , Putri Yusronia Eka , Nurcahyo Cahyono Bintang
Published: June 2022

UMKM memiliki kepentingan untuk memahami pengelolaan biayadalam hal ketangguhan usaha dan kemampuan keberlangsungan usaha di masa pandemi berupa pengelolaan biaya proyek maupun inovasi manajemen biaya untuk fungsi manajemen perusahaan. Pelatihan menjadi salah satu bentuk penguasaan pengetahuan dan ketrampilan. Selain itu juga dalam bentuk yang lebih umum melalui Webinar yang diberikan pakar manajemen biaya proyek dan perusahaan. Ada 469 peserta dari beragam latar belakang yang sekaligus menjadi responden bagi prioritas konsep inovasi pengelolaan biaya. Melalui analisa deskriptif, didapatkan tiga bentuk inovasi paling penting untuk UMKM, yaitu pengelolaan pengambilan keputusan, manajemen berbasis aktifitas, dan manajemen rantai nilai
Pengenalan dan Pemberian Wawasan Sistem Propulsi Kapal pada Siswa SMA Insan Cendekia Sukoharjo
Authors: Iswantoro Adhi , Ariana I Made , Semin Semin , Fathallah Aguk Zuhdi Muhammad , Cahyono Beny
Published: June 2022

Sejalan dengan visi pemerintah Indonesia di era Presiden Joko Widodo yaitu ingin membuat Indonesia menjadi poros maritim dunia, maka ada banyak hal yang harus disiapkan. Salah satunya adalah menumbuhkan jiwa bahari pada masyarakat Indonesia, khususnya generasi muda sebagai penerus bangsa serta menyiapkan sumber daya manusia yang handal di bidang maritim. Dimana saat ini cukup banyak generasi muda yang kurang mengenal sektor maritim. Atas dasar hal-hal tersebut, maka perlu ada kegiatan yang betujuan untuk kembali menumbuhkan jiwa bahari. Salah satu cara yang cukup efektif untuk mengatasi permasalahan tersebut diatas adalah dengan melakukan pengenalan dan pemberian wawasan bahari dan maritim pada generasi muda, yaitu pada siswa-siswi sekolah menengah atas atau kejuruan. Untuk itu tim pengabdian masyarakat membuat suatu kegiatan yang melibatkan pihak sekolah, yaitu SMA Insan Cendekia Sukoharjo. Dalam kegiatan ini dilakukan pengenalan mengenai Indonesia sebagai bangsa bahari & kepulauan, perjuangan Ir. Juanda dalam bidang maritim dan sistem propulsi yang ada di kapal. Dari hasil kegiatan tersebut, di awal memang mayoritas siswa belum mengetahui tentang bidang maritim. Akan tetapi para siswa sangat antusias ketika sesi tanya jawab berlangsung. Dalam kegiatan ini dihadiri oleh Wakil Kepala sekolah bidang akademik dan 35 siswa.
A Review of the Energy-employment Nexus in Bangladesh: Rural-urban Electrification and Sectoral Occupation Patterns
Authors: Rahman Syed Mahbubur , Kirshner Joshua , Groh Sebastian , Rahman Syed Mustafizur
Published: June 2022

Energy access, more specifically electricity access, is one of the prerequisites to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Around one-tenth of the global population remained without access to electricity in 2019. Bangladesh has shown substantial progress in electricity access. This paper aims at reviewing the association between electricity access and employment in the core three sectors: agriculture, industry, and service. The study finds that rural access to electricity is steeper in progress than that of urban areas; and overall access to electricity is increasing, while the urban-rural disparity in energy access is decreasing over time. The proportion of female employment in agriculture has reduced by one third during 1991–2018. Agricultural employment, in general, decreases with an increase in electricity access, which is counterintuitive. The government should consider the issue to keep the agricultural employment stable to ensure food security and the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product.
Experimental implementation of spike-based neuromorphic XOR operation
based on polarization-mode competition in a single VCSOA
Authors: Zhao Shihao , Xiang Shuiying , Song Ziwei , Zhang Yahui , Cao Xingyu , Wen Aijun , Hao Yue
Published: June 2022

We experimentally and numerically propose an approach for implementing
spike-based neuromorphic exclusive OR (XOR) operation using a single
vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier (VCSOA). XOR operation
is realized based on the neuron-like inhibitory dynamics of the VCSOA
subject to dual-polarized pulsed optical injections. The inhibitory
dynamics based on the polarization-mode-competition effect are
analyzed, and the inhibitory response can be obtained in a suitable
range of wavelength detuning. Here, all input and output bits are
represented by spikes that are compatible with the photonic spiking
neural network. The experimental and numerical results show that XOR
operation can be realized in two polarization modes by adjusting the
time offset in the inhibitory window and setting defined reference
thresholds. In addition, the influences of delay time and input
intensity ratio on XOR operation are studied experimentally. This
scheme is energy efficient because VCSOA works with very low current.
The results are interesting and valuable for neuromorphic photonics
computing and information processing.
Wide range linear magnetometer based on a sub-microsized K vapor cell
Authors: Auzinsh M. , Sargsyan A. , Tonoyan A. , Leroy C. , Momier R. , Sarkisyan D. , Papoyan A.
Published: June 2022

39

K

atoms have the smallest ground state (

2

S

1

/

2

) hyperfine splitting of all the most naturally abundant alkali isotopes and, consequently, the smallest characteristic magnetic field value

B
0

=

A

2

S

1

/

2

/

μ
B

≈
170

G

, where

A

2

S

1

/

2

is the ground state’s magnetic dipole interaction constant. In the hyperfine Paschen–Back regime (

B

≫

B
0

, where

B

is the magnitude of the external magnetic field applied on the atoms), only eight Zeeman transitions are visible in the absorption spectrum of the

D
1

line of

39

K

, while the probabilities of the remaining 16 Zeeman transitions tend to zero. In the case of

39

K

, this behavior is reached already at relatively low magnetic field

B

>

B
0

. For each circular polarization (

σ
−

,

σ
+

), four spectrally resolved atomic transitions having sub-Doppler widths are recorded using a sub-microsized vapor cell of thickness

L
=
120

−

390

n
m

. We present a method that allows to measure the magnetic field in the range of

0.1

−

10

k
G

with micrometer spatial resolution, which is relevant in particular for the determination of magnetic fields with large gradients (up to 3 G/µm). The theoretical model describes well the experimental results.
Complex “zero-shot” super-resolution reconstruction algorithm for THz imaging
Authors: Wang Ying , Qi Feng , Wang Jinkuan
Published: June 2022

To deal with a terahertz (THz) super-resolution (SR) algorithm based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) without standard training datasets, a complex “zero-shot” SR (CZSSR) reconstruction algorithm is proposed according to the internal image statistics with a five-layer complex CNN model. Instead of relying on pre-training, the proposed method is of sound self-adaptability. Compared with real ZSSR, the peak SNR of CZSSR rose by about 0.94 dB, MSE decreased by 0.042, and SSIM increased by about 40% for the SR result of the measured data. The results show that the CZSSR method can solve the low-resolution problem of a THz imaging system and the shortage of datasets in THz SR based on CNN. Therefore, this research is of great significance for application in the fields of medical imaging and non-destructive detection.
Rapid detection of talc content in flour based on near-infrared spectroscopy combined with feature wavelength selection
Authors: Bao Changhao , Zeng Changhao , Liu Jinming , Zhang Dongjie
Published: June 2022

Excessive illegal addition of talc in flour has always been a serious food safety issue. To achieve rapid detection of the talc content in flour (TCF) by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), this study used a Fourier transform near-infrared spectrometer technique. The identification of efficient spectral feature wavelength selection (FWS), such as backward interval partial-least-square (BiPLS), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA), and BiPLS combined with CARS; BiPLS combined with HGA; and CARS combined with HGA, was also discussed in this paper, and the corresponding partial-least-square regression models were established. Comparing with whole spectrum modeling, the accuracy and efficiency of regressive models were effectively improved using feature wavelengths of TCF selected by the above algorithms. The BiPLS, combined with HGA, had the best modeling performance; the determination coefficient, root-mean-squared error (RMSE), and residual predictive deviation of the validation set were 0.929, 1.097, and 3.795, respectively. BiPLS combined with CARS had the best dimensionality reduction effect. Through the FWS by BiPLS combined with CARS, the number of modeling wavelengths decreased to 72 from 1845, and the RMSE of the validation set was reduced by 11.6% compared with the whole spectra model. The results showed that the FWS method proposed in this paper could effectively improve detection accuracy and reduce modeling wavelength variables of quantitative analysis of TCF by NIRS. This provides theoretical support for TCF rapid detection research and development in real-time.
Thermally induced polarization distortions in uniaxial crystals
Authors: Mironov Evgeniy A. , Palashov Oleg V.
Published: June 2022

The polarization distortions of high-power laser radiation, which arise when it passes through a solid-state optical element cut from a uniaxial crystal, are studied theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical analysis is carried out taking into account the anisotropy of all physical properties of the crystal for an optical element with an arbitrary orientation of the crystallographic axes. Experimental verification shows convincing agreement with theoretical concepts. The problem of minimizing polarization distortions for optical elements cut in a direction close to the direction of the optical axis is considered.
Correlated self-heterodyne method for ultra-low-noise laser linewidth measurements
Authors: Yuan Zhiquan , Wang Heming , Liu Peng , Li Bohan , Shen Boqiang , Gao Maodong , Chang Lin , Jin Warren , Feshali Avi , Paniccia Mario , Bowers John , Vahala Kerry
Published: June 2022

Narrow-linewidth lasers are important to many applications spanning precision metrology to sensing systems. Characterization of these lasers requires precise measurements of their frequency noise spectra. Here we demonstrate a correlated self-heterodyne (COSH) method capable of measuring frequency noise as low as 0.01 Hz2/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency. The measurement setup is characterized by both commercial and lab-built lasers, and features low optical power requirements, fast acquisition time and high intensity noise rejection.
Surface water area in a changing climate: Differential responses of Alaska’s subarctic lakes
Authors: Rupp Danielle L. , Larsen Amy S.
Published: June 2022

Lake surface area in arctic and sub-arctic Alaska is changing in response to permafrost deterioration, changes in precipitation, and shifts in landscape hydrology. In interior Alaska, the National Park Service’s Central Alaska Network Shallow Lakes program studies lakes and ponds in a wide range of geomorphological settings ranging from alpine lakes to low lying lakes on fluvial plains. The purpose of this study was to determine if and how lake area was changing across this diverse environment. Using the USGS Dynamic Surface Water Extent product, we tested landscape-scale trends in surface water area from 2000–2019 in 32 distinct ecological areas, or ecological subsections, within the three parks. Surface water area declined in 9 subsections, largely in glaciated landscapes with coarse substrates and areas underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Surface water increase was seen in one subsection in the floodplain of the Copper River in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. No net change was observed in many subsections, but individual lake analysis showed that within several ecological subsections some lakes were increasing in area while others decreased in area, masking changes in lake surface area within the subsection. Over the course of the study period, surface water area in all parks experienced similar fluctuations, likely due to oscillations in regional climate. Periods of high surface water area coincided with relatively warm, wet periods. Climate change models project increases in both temperature and precipitation in Alaska; our results suggest periods of regional wetting may mask longer-term declines in surface water area in some geomorphological settings. Overall, lake surface area declined over the study period; declines were greatest in the Glaciated Lowlands in Denali National Park and Preserve.
Conceptualizing monetary benchmarks for health investments toward poverty reduction in low- and lower middle-income countries
Authors: Chakrabarti Averi , Verguet Stéphane
Published: June 2022

Public spending can improve population well-being, for example, by averting or reducing poverty. We aim to conceptualize monetary benchmarks for health sector investments oriented towards poverty alleviation in low- and lower middle-income countries. These benchmarks are meant to indicate the approximate range of health sector costs incurred to avert a single case of poverty across countries. Such conceptualizations could help identify the health interventions that are worthwhile investing in from financial risk protection and social welfare standpoints. We sourced secondary data from the World Bank for low-income and lower-middle-income countries over 2002–2019, including: per capita government expenditures on health, the proportion of a country’s population living under the international poverty line ($1.90 per day, 2011 Purchasing Power Parity), and the features of national social protection programs whose primary intent is poverty reduction. We then examined the associations between poverty headcount and per capita government health spending to gauge the potential relationship between this spending and poverty reduction. Subsequently, we derived a range of plausible poverty reduction benchmarks (PRBs). We also computed the per capita costs of national poverty reduction programs so as to contrast these with the estimated range of PRBs. Priority setting in low- and lower-middle-income countries could be informed by health-sector PRBs, in addition to burden of disease and cost-effectiveness considerations. The computed PRBs, expressed in dollars per poverty case averted, can possibly be viewed in a manner akin to economic evaluation thresholds which are usually expressed in dollars per disability-adjusted life year averted.
Healthcare providers infection prevention practices and associated factors in community clinics in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Hsan Kamrul , Islam Md. Saiful , Islam Md. Zohurul , Awal Nurullah , Gozal David , Kameli Md. Marjad Mir , Rahman Mohammad Azizur , Hossain Md. Mahfuz
Published: June 2022

Healthcare associated infections impose serious challenges to safe and high-quality healthcare delivery, and have been closely associated with poor infection prevention practices. Infection prevention practices are poorly studied in Bangladesh, and no previous studies have examined these practices among healthcare providers of community clinics. The study aimed to assess infection prevention practices and associated factors among healthcare providers of community clinics in the rural area of Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 128 community healthcare providers in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh who were identified from 128 community clinics using a stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected between November and December, 2019 via face-to-face survey using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Only 37.5% community healthcare providers had adequate knowledge on infection prevention measures, and 39.1% had good infection prevention practices. Community healthcare providers with higher education were significantly more likely to have good infection prevention practices, and good infection prevention practices were associated with availability of hand washing facilities, and of soap in community clinic, and adequate knowledge of infection prevention. Implementation of an effective training program regarding infection prevention, along with adequate supply of infection prevention basic resources, and continuous monitoring and supervision are required to improve the currently faltering infection prevention knowledge and practices among community healthcare providers in Bangladesh.
Bovine schistosomiasis in some selected areas of South Wollo and Oromia Zones of Amhara Region, North-East Ethiopia
Authors: Molla Gashaw , Tintagu Tarekegn , Yasin Ahmed , Alemu Bethelehem , Assen Alula Alemayehu , Tadesse Kassahun
Published: June 2022

A cross-sectional coprological and pathological study was conducted in five districts of South Wollo and Oromia Administrative Zones, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia from November 2020 to June 2021 to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of Bovine Schistosomiasis and to characterize pathological lesions induced by the adult worm ofSchistosoma bovis. For coprological examination, a total of 768 fecal samples were collected both from the field (384) and the abattoirs (384). An abattoir survey was carried out on 384 cattle to evaluate the performance of the sedimentation method. The risk factors were identified using multivariable mixed-effect logistic regression analyses. The diagnostic efficacy of the sedimentation technique was determined by calculating sensitivity and specificity considering postmortem examination as a reference test. The overall prevalence of bovine shistosomiasis using coprological examination was found to be 16.7% (95% CI = 14.10–19.49). The prevalence of shistosomiasis based on post-mortem examination was found to be 17.19% (95% CI = 13.55–21.34). Local cattle breed (OR = 2.44, 95%CI = 1.34–4.43), poor body condition (OR = 4.09, 95% CI = 2.45–6.83) and adult (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.21–3.28) cattle are more likely to acquire shistosomiasis than crossbreed, good body condition, and young cattle. The sensitivity and specificity of sedimentation techniques, keeping postmortem examination as a reference test were 74.24% (95%CI = 61.99–84.22) and 98.11% (95%CI = 95.94–99.30), respectively. The major gross lesions were observed in the liver and intestinal tracts. In conclusion, adult local cattle with medium and poor body conditions should be prioritized for deworming and future surveillance.