bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Data-driven modeling predicts gene regulatory network dynamics during the differentiation of multipotential hematopoietic progenitors
Authors: Handzlik Joanna E. , Manu
Published: January 2022

Cellular differentiation during hematopoiesis is guided by gene regulatory networks (GRNs) comprising transcription factors (TFs) and the effectors of cytokine signaling. Based largely on analyses conducted at steady state, these GRNs are thought to be organized as a hierarchy of bistable switches, with antagonism between Gata1 and PU.1 driving red- and white-blood cell differentiation. Here, we utilize transient gene expression patterns to infer the genetic architecture—the type and strength of regulatory interconnections—and dynamics of a twelve-gene GRN including key TFs and cytokine receptors. We trained gene circuits, dynamical models that learn genetic architecture, on high temporal-resolution gene-expression data from the differentiation of an inducible cell line into erythrocytes and neutrophils. The model is able to predict the consequences of gene knockout, knockdown, and overexpression experiments and the inferred interconnections are largely consistent with prior empirical evidence. The inferred genetic architecture is densely interconnected rather than hierarchical, featuring extensive cross-antagonism between genes from alternative lineages and positive feedback from cytokine receptors. The analysis of the dynamics of gene regulation in the model reveals that PU.1 is one of the last genes to be upregulated in neutrophil conditions and that the upregulation of PU.1 and other neutrophil genes is driven by Cebpa and Gfi1 instead. This model inference is confirmed in an independent single-cell RNA-Seq dataset from mouse bone marrow in which Cebpa and Gfi1 expression precedes the neutrophil-specific upregulation of PU.1 during differentiation. These results demonstrate that full PU.1 upregulation during neutrophil development involves regulatory influences extrinsic to the Gata1-PU.1 bistable switch. Furthermore, although there is extensive cross-antagonism between erythroid and neutrophil genes, it does not have a hierarchical structure. More generally, we show that the combination of high-resolution time series data and data-driven dynamical modeling can uncover the dynamics and causality of developmental events that might otherwise be obscured.
Comprehensive patient-level classification and quantification of driver events in TCGA PanCanAtlas cohorts
Authors: Vyatkin Alexey D. , Otnyukov Danila V. , Leonov Sergey V. , Belikov Aleksey V.
Published: January 2022

There is a growing need to develop novel therapeutics for targeted treatment of cancer. The prerequisite to success is the knowledge about which types of molecular alterations are predominantly driving tumorigenesis. To shed light onto this subject, we have utilized the largest database of human cancer mutations–TCGA PanCanAtlas, multiple established algorithms for cancer driver prediction (2020plus, CHASMplus, CompositeDriver, dNdScv, DriverNet, HotMAPS, OncodriveCLUSTL, OncodriveFML) and developed four novel computational pipelines: SNADRIF (Single Nucleotide Alteration DRIver Finder), GECNAV (Gene Expression-based Copy Number Alteration Validator), ANDRIF (ANeuploidy DRIver Finder) and PALDRIC (PAtient-Level DRIver Classifier). A unified workflow integrating all these pipelines, algorithms and datasets at cohort and patient levels was created. We have found that there are on average 12 driver events per tumour, of which 0.6 are single nucleotide alterations (SNAs) in oncogenes, 1.5 are amplifications of oncogenes, 1.2 are SNAs in tumour suppressors, 2.1 are deletions of tumour suppressors, 1.5 are driver chromosome losses, 1 is a driver chromosome gain, 2 are driver chromosome arm losses, and 1.5 are driver chromosome arm gains. The average number of driver events per tumour increases with age (from 7 to 15) and cancer stage (from 10 to 15) and varies strongly between cancer types (from 1 to 24). Patients with 1 and 7 driver events per tumour are the most frequent, and there are very few patients with more than 40 events. In tumours having only one driver event, this event is most often an SNA in an oncogene. However, with increasing number of driver events per tumour, the contribution of SNAs decreases, whereas the contribution of copy-number alterations and aneuploidy events increases.
Bladder dysfunction in human T cell lymphotropic virus infection: A prospective cohort study
Authors: Carneiro Neto José Abraão , Vitor de Oliveira Cássius José , Ferraz Sheila Nunes , Guerra Mariele , Oliveira Lívia Alves , Passos Lúcia , Carvalho Edgar M. , Rocha Paulo Novis
Published: January 2022

Background

While bladder dysfunction is observed in the majority of patients with human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy (HAM), it is also observed in patients who do not fulfill all diagnostic criteria for HAM. These patients are classified as having possible or probable HAM/TSP. However, it remains unclear whether the severity and progression of bladder dysfunction occurs similarly between these two groups.

Objective

Compare the severity and evolution of bladder dysfunction in HTLV-1-infected patients with possible and definite HAM/TSP.

Methods

The present prospective cohort study followed 90 HTLV-1 patients with possible HAM/TSP and 84 with definite HAM/TSP between April 2011 and February 2019. Bladder dysfunction was evaluated by bladder diary, overactive bladder symptoms scores (OABSS) and urodynamic studies. Bladder dysfunction progression was defined as the need for clean self-intermittent catheterization (CIC).

Results

At baseline, nocturia, urgency and OABSS scores were worse in definite compared to possible HAM/TSP patients. The main urodynamic finding was detrusor overactivity, present in 77.8% of the patients with definite HAM/TSP versus 58.7% of those with possible HAM/TSP (P = 0.05). Upon study conclusion, the cumulative frequency of patients requiring CIC increased in both groups, from 2 to 6 in possible HAM/TSP and from 28 to 44 in definite HAM/TSP patients. The estimated time to need for CIC was 6.7 years (95%CI 6.5–7.0) in the possible HAM/TSP group compared to 5.5 years (95%CI 4.8–6.1) in the definite HAM/TSP group.

Conclusions

Although both groups showed similarities in bladder dysfunction and tended to progress to requiring CIC over time, patients with possible HAM/TSP presented less severe manifestations at baseline and progressed more slowly than those with definite HAM/TSP.
Multiple-bead assay for the differential serodiagnosis of neglected human cestodiases: Neurocysticercosis and cystic echinococcosis
Authors: Hernández-González Ana , González-Bertolín Belén , Urrea Laura , Fleury Agnes , Ferrer Elizabeth , Siles-Lucas Mar , Tamarozzi Francesca , Perteguer Maria J.
Published: January 2022

Background

Neurocysticercosis (NCC), and cystic echinococcosis (CE) are two neglected diseases caused by cestodes, co-endemic in many areas of the world. Imaging studies and serological tests are used in the diagnosis of both parasitic diseases, but cross-reactions may confound the results of the latter. The novel multiplex bead-based assay with recombinant antigens has been reported to increases the diagnostic accuracy of serological techniques.

Methodology

We set-up an immunoassay based on the multiplex bead-based platform (MBA), using the rT24H (against Cysticercus cellulosae, causing cysticercosis) and r2B2t (against Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, causing CE) recombinant antigens, for simultaneous and differential diagnosis of these infections. The antigens were tested on 356 sera from 151 patients with CE, 126 patients with NCC, and 79 individuals negative for both diseases. Specificity was calculated including sera from healthy donors, other neurological diseases and the respective NCC or CE sera counterpart. The diagnostic accuracy of this assay was compared with two commercial ELISA tests, Novalisa and Ridascreen, widely used in the routine diagnosis of cysticercosis and CE, respectively.

Main findings

For the diagnosis of NCC, sensitivity ranged from 57.94–63.49% for the rT24H-MBA, and 40.48–46.03% for Novalisa ELISA depending on exclusion or inclusion of sera having equivocal results on ELISA from the analysis; specificities ranged from 90.87–91.30% and 70.43–76.96%, respectively. AUC values of the ROC curve were 0.783 (rT24H) and 0.619 (Novalisa) (p-value < 0.001). For the diagnosis of CE, the sensitivity of the r2B2t-MBA ranged from 68.87–69.77% and of Ridascreen ELISA from 50.00–57.62%; specificities from 92.47–92.68% and from 74.15–80.98%, respectively. AUC values were 0.717 and 0.760, respectively.

Conclusions/Significance

Overall, the recombinant antigens tested with the bead-based technology showed better diagnostic accuracy than the commercial assays, particularly for the diagnosis of NCC. The possibility of testing the same serum sample simultaneously for the presence of antibodies against both antigens is an added value particularly in seroprevalence studies for cysticercosis linked to control programs in endemic areas where these two parasites coexist.
Potential impact of groundnut production technology on welfare of smallholder farmers in Ghana
Authors: Kotu Bekele Hundie , Nurudeen Abdul Rahman , Muthoni Francis , Hoeschle-Zeledon Irmgard , Kizito Fred
Published: January 2022

This study was conducted to assess the potential impact of applying a new groundnut planting density on welfare of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. We used data from on-farm experiments, focus group discussions, and a household survey. We followed three steps in our analysis. First, we conducted cost-benefit analysis in which we showed the economic advantage of the new technology over the farmers’ practice. Second, we predicted adoption rates along timeline using the Adoption and Diffusion Outcome Prediction Tool (ADOPT). Third, using the results of the first and the second steps, we estimated the potential impact of the technology on poverty at household level using a combination of methods such as economic surplus model and econometric model. The cost-benefit analysis shows that increasing plant density increases farmers’ financial returns i.e., the benefit-cost-ratio increases from 1.05 under farmers’ practice to 1.87 under the best plant density option, which is 22 plants/sqm. The adoption prediction analysis shows that the maximum adoption rate for the best practice will be 62% which will take about nine years to reach. At the maximum adoption rate the incidence of extreme poverty will be reduced by about 3.6% if farmers have access to the international groundnut market and by about 2% if they do not have. The intervention will also reduce poverty gap and poverty severity. The results suggest that policy actions which can improve farmers’ access to the international market will enhance farmers’ welfare more than the situation in which farmers have access to domestic markets only. Furthermore, promoting a more integrated groundnut value-chain can broaden the demand base of the produce resulting in higher and sustainable impact of the technology on the welfare of groundnut producers and beyond.
Viral dysbiosis in children with new-onset celiac disease
Authors: El Mouzan Mohammad , Assiri Asaad , Al Sarkhy Ahmed , Alasmi Mona , Saeed Anjum , Al-Hussaini Abdulrahman , AlSaleem Badr , Al Mofarreh Mohammad
Published: January 2022

Viruses are common components of the intestinal microbiome, modulating host bacterial metabolism and interacting with the immune system, with a possible role in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases such as celiac disease (CeD). The objective of this study was to characterize the virome profile in children with new-onset CeD. We used metagenomic analysis of viral DNA in mucosal and fecal samples from children with CeD and controls and performed sequencing using the Nextera XT library preparation kit. Abundance log2 fold changes were calculated using differential expression and linear discriminant effect size. Shannon alpha and Bray–Curtis beta diversity were determined. A total of 40 children with CeD and 39 controls were included. We found viral dysbiosis in both fecal and mucosal samples. Examples of significantly more abundant species in fecal samples of children with CeD included Human polyomavirus 2, Enterobacteria phage mEpX1, and Enterobacteria phage mEpX2; whereas less abundant species included Lactococcus phages ul36 and Streptococcus phage Abc2. In mucosal samples however, no species were significantly associated with CeD. Shannon alpha diversity was not significantly different between CeD and non-CeD groups and Bray–Curtis beta diversity showed no significant separation between CeD and non-CeD samples in either mucosal or stool samples, whereas separation was clear in all samples. We identified significant viral dysbiosis in children with CeD, suggesting a potential role in the pathogenesis of CeD indicating the need for further studies.
Amplifying perceptual demands: How changes in the colour vests affect youth players performance during medium-sided games
Authors: Coutinho Diogo , Gonçalves Bruno , Folgado Hugo , Travassos Bruno , Santos Sara , Sampaio Jaime
Published: January 2022

This study explored how manipulating the colour of training vests affects footballers’ individual and collective performance during a Gk+6vs6+Gk medium-sided game. A total of 21 under-17 years old players were involved in three experimental conditions in a random order for a total of four days: i) CONTROL, two teams using two different colour vests; ii) SAME, both teams wearing blue vests; iii) MIXED, all 6 players per team wore different colour vests. Players’ positional data was used to compute time-motion and tactical-related variables, while video analysis was used to collect technical variables. Further, these variables were synchronized with spatiotemporal data allowing to capture ball-related actions in a horizontal 2D plan. All variables were analysed from the offensive and defensive perspective. From the offensive perspective, players performed more and further shots to goal during the CONTROL than in SAME and MIXED (small effects) conditions, with a decreased distance to the nearest defender (small effects). While defending, results revealed lower distance to the nearest teammate (small effects) in the CONTROL than in the SAME and MIXED conditions, and higher team longitudinal synchronization (small effects). In addition, the CONTROL showed in general lower values of team width while defending than in the other 2 conditions. Overall, coaches may use the CONTROL condition to emphasize offensive performance and defensive behaviour over the longitudinal direction with increased physical demands. In turn, coaches may use the manipulation of players vests to emphasize defensive performance, as players seem to behave more cohesively under such scenarios.
Effect of dexmedetomidine on cardiorespiratory regulation in spontaneously breathing adult rats
Authors: Kitajima Yoichiro , Hashizume Nana Sato , Saiki Chikako , Ide Ryoji , Imai Toshio
Published: January 2022

Purpose

We examined the cardiorespiratory effect of dexmedetomidine, an α2- adrenoceptor/imidazoline 1 (I1) receptor agonist, in spontaneously breathing adult rats.

Methods

Male rats (226−301 g, n = 49) under isoflurane anesthesia had their tail vein cannulated for drug administration and their tail artery cannulated for analysis of mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulse rate (PR), and arterial blood gases (PaO2, PaCO2, pH). After recovery, one set of rats received normal saline for control recording and was then divided into three experimental groups, two receiving dexmedetomidine (5 or 50 μg·kg−1) and one receiving normal saline (n = 7 per group). Another set of rats was divided into four groups receiving dexmedetomidine (50 μg·kg−1) followed 5 min later by 0.5 or 1 mg∙kg−1 atipamezole (selective α2-adrenoceptor antagonist) or efaroxan (α2-adrenoceptor/I1 receptor antagonist) (n = 6 or 8 per group). Recordings were performed 15 min after normal saline or dexmedetomidine administration.

Results

Compared with normal saline, dexmedetomidine (5 and 50 μg·kg−1) decreased respiratory frequency (fR, p = 0.04 and < 0.01, respectively), PR (both p < 0.01), and PaO2 (p = 0.04 and < 0.01), and increased tidal volume (both p = 0.049). Dexmedetomidine at 5 μg·kg−1 did not significantly change minute ventilation (V′E) (p = 0.87) or MAP (p = 0.24), whereas dexmedetomidine at 50 μg·kg−1 significantly decreased V′E (p = 0.03) and increased MAP (p < 0.01). Only dexmedetomidine at 50 μg·kg−1 increased PaCO2 (p < 0.01). Dexmedetomidine (5 and 50 μg·kg−1) significantly increased blood glucose (p < 0.01), and dexmedetomidine at 50 μg·kg−1 increased hemoglobin (p = 0.04). Supplemental atipamezole or efaroxan administration similarly prevented the 50 μg·kg−1 dexmedetomidine-related cardiorespiratory changes.

Principal conclusion

These results suggest that dexmedetomidine-related hypoventilation and hypertension are observed simultaneously and occur predominantly through activation of α2-adrenoceptors, but not I1 receptors, in spontaneously breathing adult rats.
Observational study of changes in utilization and outcomes in mechanical ventilation in COVID-19
Authors: Karagiannidis Christian , Hentschker Corinna , Westhoff Michael , Weber-Carstens Steffen , Janssens Uwe , Kluge Stefan , Pfeifer Michael , Spies Claudia , Welte Tobias , Rossaint Rolf , Mostert Carina , Windisch Wolfram
Published: January 2022

Background

The role of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in severe COVID-19 remains a matter of debate. Therefore, the utilization and outcome of NIV in COVID-19 in an unbiased cohort was determined.

Aim

The aim was to provide a detailed account of hospitalized COVID-19 patients requiring non-invasive ventilation during their hospital stay. Furthermore, differences of patients treated with NIV between the first and second wave are explored.

Methods

Confirmed COVID-19 cases of claims data of the Local Health Care Funds with non-invasive and/or invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) in the spring and autumn pandemic period in 2020 were comparable analysed.

Results

Nationwide cohort of 17.023 cases (median/IQR age 71/61–80 years, 64% male) 7235 (42.5%) patients primarily received IMV without NIV, 4469 (26.3%) patients received NIV without subsequent intubation, and 3472 (20.4%) patients had NIV failure (NIV-F), defined by subsequent endotracheal intubation. The proportion of patients who received invasive MV decreased from 75% to 37% during the second period. Accordingly, the proportion of patients with NIV exclusively increased from 9% to 30%, and those failing NIV increased from 9% to 23%. Median length of hospital stay decreased from 26 to 21 days, and duration of MV decreased from 11.9 to 7.3 days. The NIV failure rate decreased from 49% to 43%. Overall mortality increased from 51% versus 54%. Mortality was 44% with NIV-only, 54% with IMV and 66% with NIV-F with mortality rates steadily increasing from 62% in early NIV-F (day 1) to 72% in late NIV-F (>4 days).

Conclusions

Utilization of NIV rapidly increased during the autumn period, which was associated with a reduced duration of MV, but not with overall mortality. High NIV-F rates are associated with increased mortality, particularly in late NIV-F.
Deep learning model for fully automated breast cancer detection system from thermograms
Authors: Mohamed Esraa A. , Rashed Essam A. , Gaber Tarek , Karam Omar
Published: January 2022

Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases among women worldwide. It is considered one of the leading causes of death among women. Therefore, early detection is necessary to save lives. Thermography imaging is an effective diagnostic technique which is used for breast cancer detection with the help of infrared technology. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic breast cancer detection system. First, U-Net network is used to automatically extract and isolate the breast area from the rest of the body which behaves as noise during the breast cancer detection model. Second, we propose a two-class deep learning model, which is trained from scratch for the classification of normal and abnormal breast tissues from thermal images. Also, it is used to extract more characteristics from the dataset that is helpful in training the network and improve the efficiency of the classification process. The proposed system is evaluated using real data (A benchmark, database (DMR-IR)) and achieved accuracy = 99.33%, sensitivity = 100% and specificity = 98.67%. The proposed system is expected to be a helpful tool for physicians in clinical use.
Weight loss practices and eating behaviours among female physique athletes: Acquiring the optimal body composition for competition
Authors: Alwan Nura , Moss Samantha L. , Davies Ian G. , Elliott-Sale Kirsty J. , Enright Kevin
Published: January 2022

Little is known about weight loss practices and eating behaviours in female physique athletes. This study investigated the weight loss history, practices, and key influences during the pre-competition period in a large cohort of female physique athletes stratified by division and experience level. Eating attitudes and behaviours were assessed to identify whether athletes were at risk of developing an eating disorder. Using a cross-sectional research design, female physique athletes (n= 158) were recruited and completed an anonymous online self-reported survey consisting of two validated questionnaires: Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire and Eating Attitudes Test-26. Irrespective of division or experience, female physique athletes used a combination of weight loss practices during the pre-competition phase. Gradual dieting (94%), food restriction (64%) and excessive exercise (84%), followed by body water manipulation via water loading (73%) were the most commonly used methods. Overall, 37% of female physique athletes were considered at risk of developing an eating disorder. Additionally, 42% of female physique athletes used two pathogenic weight control methods with 34% of Figure novice athletes indicating binge eating once a week or more. The coach (89%) and another athlete (73%) were identified as key influences on athletes’ dieting practices and weight loss. The prevalence of athletes identified with disordered eating symptoms and engaging in pathogenic weight control methods is concerning. In future, female physique athletes should seek advice from registered nutritionists to optimise weight management practices and minimise the risk of developing an eating disorder.
Is overwintering mortality driving enigmatic declines? Evaluating the impacts of trematodes and the amphibian chytrid fungus on an anuran from hatching through overwintering
Authors: Wetsch Olivia , Strasburg Miranda , McQuigg Jessica , Boone Michelle D.
Published: January 2022

Emerging infectious diseases are increasing globally and are an additional challenge to species dealing with native parasites and pathogens. Therefore, understanding the combined effects of infectious agents on hosts is important for species’ conservation and population management. Amphibians are hosts to many parasites and pathogens, including endemic trematode flatworms (e.g., Echinostoma spp.) and the novel pathogenic amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]). Our study examined how exposure to trematodes during larval development influenced the consequences of Bd pathogen exposure through critical life events. We found that prior exposure to trematode parasites negatively impacted metamorphosis but did not influence the effect of Bd infection on terrestrial growth and survival. Bd infection alone, however, resulted in significant mortality during overwintering—an annual occurrence for most temperate amphibians. The results of our study indicated overwintering mortality from Bd could provide an explanation for enigmatic declines and highlights the importance of examining the long-term consequences of novel parasite exposure.
Cell behaviors within a confined adhesive area fabricated using novel micropatterning methods
Authors: Nakatoh Tsukasa , Osaki Takuji , Tanimoto Sohma , Jahan Md. Golam Sarowar , Kawakami Tomohisa , Chihara Kentaro , Sakai Nobuyuki , Yumura Shigehiko
Published: January 2022

In the field of cell and tissue engineering, there is an increasing demand for techniques to spatially control the adhesion of cells to substrates of desired sizes and shapes. Here, we describe two novel methods for fabricating a substrate for adhesion of cells to a defined area. In the first method, the surface of the coverslip or plastic dish was coated with Lipidure, a non-adhesive coating material, and air plasma was applied through a mask with holes, to confer adhesiveness to the surface. In the second method, after the surface of the coverslip was coated with gold by sputtering and then with Lipidure; the Lipidure coat was locally removed using a novel scanning laser ablation method. These methods efficiently confined cells within the adhesive area and enabled us to follow individual cells for a longer duration, compared to the currently available commercial substrates. By following single cells within the confined area, we were able to observe several new aspects of cell behavior in terms of cell division, cell–cell collisions, and cell collision with the boundary between adhesive and non-adhesive areas.
Impact of Coronavirus Infectious Disease (COVID-19) pandemic on willingness of immunization—A community-based questionnaire study
Authors: Chen Pei-Yun , Chuang Pei-Ni , Chiang Chien-Hsieh , Chang Hao-Hsiang , Lu Chia-Wen , Huang Kuo-Chin
Published: January 2022

Background

Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a great impact on global health, but with relatively few confirmed cases in Taiwan. People in Taiwan showed excellent cooperation with the government for disease prevention and faced social and behavioral changes during this period. This study aimed to investigate people’s knowledge of COVID-19, attitudes and practices regarding vaccinations for influenza, pneumococcus and COVID-19.

Methods

We conducted a community-based, cross-sectional questionnaire survey from September 2020 to October 2020 among adults in northern Taiwan. The four-part questionnaire included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19.

Results

Among a total of 410 respondents, 58.5% were categorized as having “good knowledge” responding to COVID-19. Among the total respondents, 86.6% were willing to receive influenza or pneumococcal vaccines, and 76% of them acted to receive COVID-19 immunization once the vaccine became available. Compared with the respondents with poor knowledge of COVID-19, those with good knowledge had a more positive attitude toward receiving influenza or pneumococcal immunization (OR 3.26, 95% CI = 1.74–6.12).

Conclusions

Participants with good knowledge of COVID-19 had greater intent to receive immunization for influenza or pneumococcal vaccine. The promotion of correct knowledge of both COVID-19 and immunization preparations is necessary.
Vida da Faculdade de Letras 2020-2021
Authors: Coimbra Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de
Published: January 2022

A partir do ano letivo de 2012/2013, toda a informação que integrava a secção “Vida da Faculdade”, da Revista Biblos passa a ter uma existência autónoma em formato digital. Por se considerar relevante preservar essa memória e por se entender que ela não deve integrar uma revista científica, cria-se esta publicação à parte, acessível ao público interno e externo, que passa a estar alojada na página web da Faculdade de Letras e nas plataformas da Imprensa da Universidade. Neste volume, reúnem-se informações relativas ao ano letivo de 2019/2020.
From a suppressed anti-communist dissident movement to a governing party: the transformations of FIDESZ in Hungary
Authors: Szabó Máté
Published: January 2022

FIDESZ, as an outlawed protest movement of the Kádár era, has preserved their specific type of “outlawed and clandestine” political tradition and identity. A strong anti-communism, a popular mobilizing strategy and an atmosphere of hatred towards the agents of Hungary’s communist past remained within the political culture of the party from the suppressed underground movement. The political generation of leading activists, including current Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has been socialized in the “underground” of the eighties. The experience of “being outlawed” under the Communist system has had longlasting effects on them. The “myths”, symbols, and “fights” of the suppressed protest movements keep themselves alive in the new political culture in the present goals and strategies of FIDESZ-MPP. The former protest movement transformed itself into a minority party with liberal affiliations in the new parliament of 1990. However, as the Hungarian Liberal Party (SZDSZ) moved into a governing alliance with the successor to the Communist party, FIDESZ moved to the right, becoming its leading force. Competition between five centre-right parties led to FIDESZ’s control as the leader of a centre-right government (1998-2002). While the socialists (MSZP) and liberals (SZDSZ) became governing forces twice (2002-2010), FIDESZ became a mobilizing populist party, gaining hegemony within the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition. The economic and financial crisis assisted FIDESZ in mobilizing protest, leading the FIDESZ-KDNP alliance to a two–thirds majority victory in the 2010 elections.
Who gets on your nerves?
Authors: Király Gábor
Published: January 2022

A review of Franks, David D. (2010) Neurosociology. The Nexus between Neuroscience and Social Psychology. New York: Springer. pp. 216
The COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights Opportunities to Improve Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening and Diagnosis in a National Health System
Authors: Kim Nicole J. , Rozenberg-Ben-Dror Karine , Jacob David A. , Berry Kristin , Ioannou George N.
Published: January 2022

INTRODUCTION:

We evaluated the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic's impact on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening and diagnosis among patients with cirrhosis in the Veterans Health Administration.

METHODS:

Rates and predictors of screening and diagnosis were reviewed September 1, 2019–February 29, 2020 (“pre-COVID-19,” N = 94,612) and April 1, 2020–September 30, 2020 (“post-COVID-19,” N = 88,073).

RESULTS:

Screening and diagnosis rates declined by 44% and 13%, respectively, after the COVID-19 pandemic. Screening declined irrespective of liver disease severity, but diagnosis declined only in Model for End Stage Liver Disease-Sodium score <20 or Fibrosis-4 score <3.25. Fibrosis-4 score ≥3.25 and HCC risk ≥1.5%/year strongly predicted HCC diagnosis but only moderately predicted receipt of screening.

DISCUSSION:

Screening and diagnosis rates declined after the COVID-19 pandemic. Prioritizing screening for patients at greatest risk for HCC may reduce delays in diagnosis.
CROATIAN FOREIGN POLICY: A SYSTEMIC LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors:   International Burch University, Kurtovic Amer , Safic Sanel ,   International Burch University
Published: January 2022

This paper systemically analyzes the scholarly literature on Croatian foreign policy in general and in specific towards its eastern neighbors – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia – and categorizes them according to the selected theoretical framework, data collection, and data analysis methods used, and results generated. There are five discernible streams of academic study and scholarly analysis of Croatian foreign policy: those leveraging a) traditional theoretical frameworks and those leveraging b) less traditional theoretical frameworks, both usually taking a macro-approach, those focusing on c) the policy process and the shift of power from the head of state to the head of government, d) those thematizing Croatia’s bilateral relations with individual Western Balkans states as a niche foreign policy, and e) prospective-orientated studies seeking to map a future course for Croatian foreign policy, post-EU accession. The findings point to a noticeable lack of constructivist and especially discursive studies analyzing Croatian foreign policy, generally and specifically toward its eastern neighbors.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO
Authors:   International Burch University, Causevic Zerina
Published: January 2022

Having their populations add up to over 80% of Albanian ethnicity, Kosovo and Albania can be conceptualized as being closely intertwined namely when it comes to their foreign policies. This article will primarily focus on the foreign policies of Albania and Kosovo through the lens of their major foreign policy goals and their connections with the European Union. The path of the contemporary existence of Albania and Kosovo has been marked by various events such as the dissolution of Kosovo from Serbia. Their primary efforts include building and maintaining a democratic society that would enable the two countries to gradually flourish and establish closer ties with neighboring countries as well as Europe and the EU if successful. This research provides a comparison of the two foreign policies through a lateral method by also focusing on one of the three levels of analysis, the individual, state, and system. Within the individual level emphasis is laid on crucial individuals such as Rama, Pacolli, Cakaj, and Meta. This level of analysis and the outline of influential decisionmakers statements and actions can confirm the idea that the two countries of Kosovo and Albania can survive only in case of successful cooperation amongst each other as well as through Euro Atlantic integration namely with the European Union.
India and China in the Indian Ocean: Changing Dimensions of Maritime Strategy
Authors:   Mahatma Gandhi University, Kurian Anju Lis , Vinodan C. ,   Mahatma Gandhi University
Published: January 2022

In Asian and global power politics a maritime strategic angle concentrates on the value of fortifying and controlling sea lines of communications (SLOCs) for stability, economic growth, and development of nations. Consequently, both India and China are snooping to control SLOCs and safeguard their emergent and escalating worldwide interests. The advancement in and expansion of naval power satisfies the corresponding nationalist aspirations of Beijing and New Delhi. As a result, the development of their maritime capabilities would have a greater impact on the naval security architecture in the Indian Ocean. The hike in Chinese engagements across the Indian Ocean widely known as the String of Pearl’s stratagem is principally stimulated by a policy of maritime encirclement of India. Struggle to secure tactical energy resources which are quickly revolutionizing their navies could induce clashes and have major repercussions for global security affairs. Harmonious handling of both China’s and India’s cooperation will be crucial for regional as well as international peace and opulence shortly and everyone looks upon a fabulous Asia reflected in the world. Thus, this paper analyses the underlying factors that motivate both countries to have ambitious objectives in the Indian Ocean and could find out that securing energy is one of the driving forces in securing maritime dominance across the Indian Ocean.
Synthesis and Characterization of Hydrochar and Bio-oil from Hydrothermal Carbonization of Sargassum sp. using Choline Chloride (ChCl) Catalyst
Authors: Rustamaji Heri , Prakoso Tirto , Rizkiana Jenny , Devianto Hary , Widiatmoko Pramujo , Guan Guoqing
Published: January 2022

The purpose of this study is to alter the biomass of Sargassum sp. into elective fills and high valuable biomaterials in a hydrothermal process at 200oC for 90 minutes, using ZnCl2 and CaCl2 activating agents, withChClas a catalyst. This method generatedthree primaryoutputs: hydrochar, bio-oil, and gasproducts. ChCl to water ratio varies from 1:3, 1:1, and 3:1. The hydrochar yield improved when the catalyst ratio was increased, but the bio-oil and gas yield declined. The highest hydrochar yields were 76.95, 63.25, and 44.16 percent in ZnCl2, CaCl2, and no activating agent samples, respectively.The porosity analysis observed mesopore structures with the most pore diameters between 3.9-5.2 nm with a surface area between 44.71-55.2. The attribute of interaction between activator and catalyst plays a role in pore formation. The hydrochar products with CaCl2 showed the best thermal stability. From the whole experiment, the optimum hydrochar yield (76.95%), optimum surface area (55.42 m2 g-1), and the increase in carbon content from 21.11 to 37.8% were achieved at the ratio of ChCl to water was three, and the activating agent of ZnCl2. The predominant bio-oil components were hexadecane, hexadecanoic, and 9-octadecenoic acids, with a composition of 51.65, 21.44, and 9.87%, respectively the remaining contained aromatic alkanes and other fatty acids. The findings of this study reported that adding activating agents and catalysts improve hydrochar yield and characteristics of hydrochar and bio-oil products, suggesting the potential of hydrochar as a solid fuel or biomaterial and bio-oil as liquid biofuel
PENGELOMPOKAN TITIK GEMPA DI PULAU SULAWESI MENGGUNAKAN ALGORITMA ST-DBSCAN (Spatio Temporal-Density Based Spatial Clustering Application with Noise)
Authors: Manalu Denny Jales , Rahmawati Rita , Widiharih Tatik
Published: January 2022

Earthquake is a natural disaster which is quite serious in Indonesia, especially on Sulawesi Island. Earthquake is fearful because it can’t be predicted when it will come, where it will come, and how strong the vibration, that often causes fatal damage and casualties. In effort to minimize losses caused by earthquake, it is necessary to divide areas which are easily affected by earthquake. One of the methods that can be used in dividing the area is by using the clustering technique. This research by using a clustering method with the ST-DBSCAN (Spatial Temporal-Density Based Spatial Clustering Application with Noise) algorithm on dataset of earthquake points in Sulawesi Island in 2019. This method by using the spatial distance parameters (Eps1 = 0.45), the temporal distance parameters (Eps2 = 7), and minimum number of cluster members (MinPts = 4), resulting in a total of 60 clusters with 8 large clusters and 216 noises
COPULA FRANK UNTUK PERHITUNGAN VALUE AT RISK PORTOFOLIO BIVARIAT PADA MODEL EXPONENTIAL GENERALIZED AUTOREGRESSIVE CONDITIONAL HETEROSCEDASTICITY
Authors: Anisha Eka , Maruddani Di Asih I , Suparti Suparti
Published: January 2022

Stocks are one type of investment that promises return for investors but often carries a high risk. Value at Risk (VaR) is a measuring tool that can calculate the amount of the worst loss that occurs in a stock portfolio with a certain level of confidence and within a certain time period. In general, financial data have a high volatility value, which causes the residuals are not normally distributed. ARCH/GARCH modoel is used to solve the heteroscedasticity problem. If the data also have an asymmetric effect, it is modelled with Exponential GARCH model. Copula-Frank is part of the Archimedian copula which is used to solve empirical cases. The data on this study were BBCA and KLBF stock price return data in the observation period 30 December 2011 – 6 December 2019. Furthermore, to test the validity of the VaR model, a backtesting test will be carried out using the Kupiec Test. The results showed that the best model used for BBCA stocks was ARIMA (1,0,1) EGARCH (1,1) and for KLBF stocks was ARIMA (1,0,1) EGARCH (1,2). The amount of risk with a 95% confidence level used a combination of the EGARCH and Copula-Frank models was 2.233% of today's investment. Based on the backtesting test used the Kupiec Test, the VaR model of the portfolio obtained was declared valid.
PEMODELAN HARGA EMAS DUNIA MENGGUNAKAN METODE NONPARAMETRIK POLINOMIAL LOKAL DILENGKAPI GUI R
Authors: Hendrian Jody , Suparti Suparti , Prahutama Alan
Published: January 2022

Investing in gold is a flexible choice because it can be sold at any time and used as an emergency fund. Investors should have the knowledge to predict data from time to time to achieve investment goals. One of the statistical methods for time series data modeling is ARIMA. The ARIMA model is strict with the assumptions that the data must be stationary, the residuals must be normally distributed, independent, and with constant variance, so an alternative model is proposed, namely nonparametric regression model, which has no modeling assumptions requirement. In this study, the daily world gold price data will be modeled using a local polynomial nonparametric model as an alternative because the assumptions in the ARIMA are not fulfilled. The data is divided into 2 parts, namely in sample data from January 2, 2020 to November 30, 2020 to form a model and out sample data from December 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 used for evauation of model performance based on MAPE values. The chosen best model is the local polynomial model with Gaussian kernel function of degree 5, bandwidth of 373, and local point of 1744 with an MSE value of 482.6420. The local polynomial model out sample data MAPE value is 0.61%, indicating that the model has excellent forecasting capability. In this study, Graphical User Interface (GUI) using R software with the help of shiny package is also built, making data analyzing easier and generating more interactive display output.
Rakouská statistika školství a vzdělávání – opomíjený pramen dějin vzdělanosti „dlouhého“ 19. století
Authors: Kadlec Petr
Published: January 2022

This study deals with statistics describing Austrian schools and education in 1828–1915. The potential of this source has so far been used by researchers only most sporadically. The text presents the development of key statistical series, their contents, potential uses, and draws attention to some difficulties which researchers working with school statistics are likely to encounter.
Roman Pazderský, Historik Wácslaw Wladiwoj Tomek a české dějepisectví 19. století
Authors: Čornej Petr
Published: January 2022

Book review on Roman Pazderský, Historik Wácslaw Wladiwoj Tomek a české dějepisectví 19. století, Praha, Archiv hlavního města Prahy – Nakladatelství Václav Žák – Casablanca 2020, 618 s., ISBN 978-80-86852-89-8.
Petr Nohel, Výuka církevního práva na teologických a právnických fakultách v Českých zemích v letech 1918–1989
Authors: Továrek Michal
Published: January 2022

Book review on Petr Nohel, Výuka církevního práva na teologických a právnických fakultách v Českých zemích v letech 1918–1989. Nakladatelství Karolinum, Praha 2019, 158 s., ISBN 978-80-246-4148-5.
La escritura, la ilustración y la animación como estrategia de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la anatomía humana
Authors: Osorio Sonia
Published: January 2022

The importance of research on the teaching and learning of human anatomy is currently recognized, especially if it is considered that university courses in this area continue the traditional scheme that predominates worldwide, prioritizing transmissive teaching, rote learning and summative evaluation. The purpose of this work was the construction of models for the teaching-learning (T-L) of human anatomy in which the writing, illustration and animation of a story is proposed as a method of T-L of the anatomy of the brachial plexus (nerves of the upper limb). For this, the model construction process was followed, taking into account the definition of the objective, the initial observation, the reading of the theory, the form of representation, the verification of the proposed model, and the socialization. This T-L method allowed the students to achieve a deep understanding of the topic, in this case, the spatial location of the brachial plexus, the relationship of the anatomical structures and their clinical correlation. Therefore, it can be concluded that the elaboration of models allowed the students to take ownership of their learning process by proposing, exploring and deploying their creativity and critical thinking; in addition, the attitude of the teachers, who participated as mediators, contributed to the students’ cognitive and emotional engagement in the academic activity.
WindTunnel
Authors: Yu Gyeong-In , Amizadeh Saeed , Kim Sehoon , Pagnoni Artidoro , Zhang Ce , Chun Byung-Gon , Weimer Markus , Interlandi Matteo
Published: January 2022

While deep neural networks (DNNs) have shown to be successful in several domains like computer vision, non-DNN models such as linear models and gradient boosting trees are still considered state-of-the-art over tabular data. When using these models, data scientists often author machine learning (ML) pipelines: DAG of ML operators comprising data transforms and ML models, whereby each operator is sequentially trained one-at-a-time. Conversely, when training DNNs, layers composing the neural networks are simultaneously trained using backpropagation.

In this paper, we argue that the training scheme of ML pipelines is sub-optimal because it tries to optimize a single operator at a time thus losing the chance of global optimization. We therefore propose WindTunnel: a system that translates a trained ML pipeline into a pipeline of neural network modules and jointly optimizes the modules using backpropagation. We also suggest translation methodologies for several non-differentiable operators such as gradient boosting trees and categorical feature encoders. Our experiments show that fine-tuning of the translated WindTunnel pipelines is a promising technique able to increase the final accuracy.
DBOS
Authors: Skiadopoulos Athinagoras , Li Qian , Kraft Peter , Kaffes Kostis , Hong Daniel , Mathew Shana , Bestor David , Cafarella Michael , Gadepally Vijay , Graefe Goetz , Kepner Jeremy , Kozyrakis Christos , Kraska Tim , Stonebraker Michael , Suresh Lalith , Zaharia Matei
Published: January 2022

This paper lays out the rationale for building a completely new operating system (OS) stack. Rather than build on a single node OS together with separate cluster schedulers, distributed filesystems, and network managers, we argue that a distributed transactional DBMS should be the basis for a scalable cluster OS. We show herein that such a database OS (DBOS) can do scheduling, file management, and inter-process communication with competitive performance to existing systems. In addition, significantly better analytics can be provided as well as a dramatic reduction in code complexity through implementing OS services as standard database queries, while implementing low-latency transactions and high availability only once.
Deep indexed active learning for matching heterogeneous entity representations
Authors: Jain Arjit , Sarawagi Sunita , Sen Prithviraj
Published: January 2022

Given two large lists of records, the task in entity resolution (ER) is to find the pairs from the Cartesian product of the lists that correspond to the same real world entity. Typically, passive learning methods on such tasks require large amounts of labeled data to yield useful models. Active Learning is a promising approach for ER in low resource settings. However, the search space, to find informative samples for the user to label, grows quadratically for instance-pair tasks making active learning hard to scale. Previous works, in this setting, rely on hand-crafted predicates, pre-trained language model embeddings, or rule learning to prune away unlikely pairs from the Cartesian product. This blocking step can miss out on important regions in the product space leading to low recall. We propose DIAL, a scalable active learning approach that jointly learns embeddings to maximize recall for blocking and accuracy for matching blocked pairs. DIAL uses an Index-By-Committee framework, where each committee member learns representations based on powerful pre-trained transformer language models. We highlight surprising differences between the matcher and the blocker in the creation of the training data and the objective used to train their parameters. Experiments on five benchmark datasets and a multilingual record matching dataset show the effectiveness of our approach in terms of precision, recall and running time.