bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychometrics of three Swedish physical pediatric item banks from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)®: pain interference, fatigue, and physical activity
Authors: Carlberg Rindestig Frida , Wiberg Marie , Chaplin John Eric , Henje Eva , Dennhag Inga
Published: October 2021

Background

The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) aims to provide self-reported item banks for several dimensions of physical, mental and social health. Here we investigate the psychometric properties of the Swedish pediatric versions of the Physical Health item banks for pain interference, fatigue and physical activity which can be used in school health care and other clinical pediatric settings. Physical health has been shown to be more important for teenagers’ well-being than ever because of the link to several somatic and mental conditions. The item banks are not yet available in Sweden.

Methods

12- to 19-year-old participants (n = 681) were recruited in public school settings, and at a child- and psychiatric outpatient clinic. Three one-factor models using CFA were performed to evaluate scale dimensionality. We analyzed monotonicity and local independence. The items were calibrated by fitting the graded response model. Differential Item analyses (DIF) for age, gender and language were calculated.

Results

As part of the three one-factor models, we found support that each item bank measures a unidimensional construct. No monotonicity or local dependence were found. We found that 11 items had significant lack of fit in the item response theory (IRT) analyses. The result also showed DIF for age (seven items) and language (nine items). However, the differences on item fits and effect sizes of McFadden were negligible. After considering the analytic results, graphical illustration, item content and clinical relevance we decided to keep all items in the item banks.

Conclusions

We translated and validated the U.S. PROMIS item banks pain interference, fatigue and physical activity into Swedish by applying CFA, IRT and DIF analyses. The results suggest adequacy of the translations in terms of their psychometrics. The questionnaires can be used in school health and other pediatric care. Future studies can be to use Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), which provide fewer but reliable items to the test person compared to classical testing.
The leaf senescence-promoting transcription factor AtNAP activates its direct target gene CYTOKININ OXIDASE 3 to facilitate senescence processes by degrading cytokinins
Authors: Hu Youzhen , Liu Bin , Ren Huazhong , Chen Liping , Watkins Christopher B. , Gan Su-Sheng
Published: October 2021

Cytokinins (CKs) are a class of adenine-derived plant hormones that plays pervasive roles in plant growth and development including cell division, morphogenesis, lateral bud outgrowth, leaf expansion and senescence. CKs as a “fountain of youth” prolongs leaf longevity by inhibiting leaf senescence, and therefore must be catabolized for senescence to occur. AtNAP, a senescence-specific transcription factor has a key role in promoting leaf senescence. The role of AtNAP in regulating CK catabolism is unknown. Here we report the identification and characterization of AtNAP-AtCKX3 (cytokinin oxidase 3) module by which CKs are catabolized during leaf senescence in Arabidopsis. Like AtNAP, AtCKX3 is highly upregulated during leaf senescence. When AtNAP is chemically induced AtCKX3 is co-induced; and when AtNAP is knocked out, the expression of AtCKX3 is abolished. AtNAP physically binds to the cis element of the AtCKX3 promoter to direct its expression as revealed by yeast one-hybrid assays and in planta experiments. Leaves of the atckx3 knockout lines have higher CK concentrations and a delayed senescence phenotype compared with those of WT. In contrast, leaves with inducible expression of AtCKX3 have lower CK concentrations and exhibit a precocious senescence phenotype compared with WT. This research reveals that AtNAP transcription factor˗AtCKX3 module regulates leaf senescence by connecting two antagonist plant hormones abscisic acid and CKs.
Characterising the severity of treatment resistance in unipolar and bipolar depression
Authors: Taylor Rachael W. , Strawbridge Rebecca , Young Allan H. , Zahn Roland , Cleare Anthony J.
Published: October 2021

Background

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is classically defined according to the number of suboptimal antidepressant responses experienced, but multidimensional assessments of TRD are emerging and may confer some advantages. Patient characteristics have been identified as risk factors for TRD but may also be associated with TRD severity. The identification of individuals at risk of severe TRD would support appropriate prioritisation of intensive and specialist treatments.

Aims

To determine whether TRD risk factors are associated with TRD severity when assessed multidimensionally using the Maudsley Staging Method (MSM), and univariately as the number of antidepressant non-responses, across three cohorts of individuals with depression.

Method

Three cohorts of individuals without significant TRD, with established TRD and with severe TRD, were assessed (n = 528). Preselected characteristics were included in linear regressions to determine their association with each outcome.

Results

Participants with more severe TRD according to the MSM had a lower age at onset, fewer depressive episodes and more physical comorbidities. These associations were not consistent across cohorts. The number of episodes was associated with the number of antidepressant treatment failures, but the direction of association varied across the cohorts studied.

Conclusions

Several risk factors for TRD were associated with the severity of resistance according to the MSM. Fewer were associated with the raw number of inadequate antidepressant responses. Multidimensional definitions may be more useful for identifying patients at risk of severe TRD. The inconsistency of associations across cohorts has potential implications for the characterisation of TRD.
Causal associations of intelligence with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: A Mendelian randomization analysis
Authors: Ohi Kazutaka , Takai Kentaro , Kuramitsu Ayumi , Sugiyama Shunsuke , Soda Midori , Kitaichi Kiyoyuki , Shioiri Toshiki
Published: October 2021

Background

Intelligence is inversely associated with schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD); it remains unclear whether low intelligence is a cause or consequence. We investigated causal associations of intelligence with SCZ or BD risk and a shared risk between SCZ and BD and SCZ-specific risk.

Methods

To estimate putative causal associations, we performed multi-single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Mendelian randomization (MR) using generalized summary-data-based MR (GSMR). Summary-level datasets from five GWASs (intelligence, SCZ vs. control [CON], BD vs. CON, SCZ + BD vs. CON, and SCZ vs. BD; sample sizes of up to 269,867) were utilized.

Results

A strong bidirectional association between risks for SCZ and BD was observed (odds ratio; ORSCZ → BD = 1.47, p = 2.89 × 10−41, ORBD → SCZ = 1.44, p = 1.85 × 10−52). Low intelligence was bidirectionally associated with a high risk for SCZ, with a stronger effect of intelligence on SCZ risk (ORlower intelligence → SCZ = 1.62, p = 3.23 × 10−14) than the reverse (ORSCZ → lower intelligence = 1.06, p = 3.70 × 10−23). Furthermore, low intelligence affected a shared risk between SCZ and BD (OR lower intelligence → SCZ + BD = 1.23, p = 3.41 × 10−5) and SCZ-specific risk (ORlower intelligence → SCZvsBD = 1.64, p = 9.72 × 10−10); the shared risk (ORSCZ + BD → lower intelligence = 1.04, p = 3.09 × 10−14) but not SCZ-specific risk (ORSCZvsBD → lower intelligence = 1.00, p = 0.88) weakly affected low intelligence. Conversely, there was no significant causal association between intelligence and BD risk (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

These findings support observational studies showing that patients with SCZ display impairment in premorbid intelligence and intelligence decline. Moreover, a shared factor between SCZ and BD might contribute to impairment in premorbid intelligence and intelligence decline but SCZ-specific factors might be affected by impairment in premorbid intelligence. We suggest that patients with these genetic factors should be categorized as having a cognitive disorder SCZ or BD subtype.
CT findings in sequel of COVID-19 pneumonia and its complications
Authors: Garg Mandeep , Prabhakar Nidhi , Bhatia Harsimran , Dhooria Sahajal , Debi Uma , Muthu Valliapan , Maralkunte Muniraju , Sehgal Inderpaul , Agarwal Ritesh , Sandhu MS
Published: October 2021

A significant number of patients after initial recovery from COVID-19 continue to experience lingering symptoms of the disease that may last for weeks or even months. Lungs being the most commonly affected organ by COVID-19, bear the major brunt of the disease and thus it is imperative to be aware of the evolution of the pulmonary parenchymal changes over time. CT chest is the imaging modality of choice to evaluate post-COVID lungs. Persistent ground-glass opacities, septal thickening, parenchymal bands, crazy-paving, traction bronchiectasis and consolidation constitute the commonly encountered imaging patterns seen on CT in post-COVID-19 lungs. Few vulnerable patients can develop lung fibrosis and show honeycombing on CT. Additionally, many complications like superadded infections (bacterial and fungal), pulmonary thromboembolism and pseudoaneurysm formation are also being reported. In the present pictorial review, we have tried to show the entire CT spectrum of sequelae of COVID-19 pneumonia and commonly associated infections and vascular complications.
Deep learning for automated detection and numbering of permanent teeth on panoramic images
Authors: Estai Mohamed , Tennant Marc , Gebauer Dieter , Brostek Andrew , Vignarajan Janardhan , Mehdizadeh Maryam , Saha Sajib
Published: October 2021

Objective:

This study aimed to evaluate an automated detection system to detect and classify permanent teeth on orthopantomogram (OPG) images using convolutional neural networks (CNNs).

Methods:

In total, 591 digital OPGs were collected from patients older than 18 years. Three qualified dentists performed individual teeth labelling on images to generate the ground truth annotations. A three-step procedure, relying upon CNNs, was proposed for automated detection and classification of teeth. Firstly, U-Net, a type of CNN, performed preliminary segmentation of tooth regions or detecting regions of interest (ROIs) on panoramic images. Secondly, the Faster R-CNN, an advanced object detection architecture, identified each tooth within the ROI determined by the U-Net. Thirdly, VGG-16 architecture classified each tooth into 32 categories, and a tooth number was assigned. A total of 17,135 teeth cropped from 591 radiographs were used to train and validate the tooth detection and tooth numbering modules. 90% of OPG images were used for training, and the remaining 10% were used for validation. 10-folds cross-validation was performed for measuring the performance. The intersection over union (IoU), F1 score, precision, and recall (i.e. sensitivity) were used as metrics to evaluate the performance of resultant CNNs.

Results:

The ROI detection module had an IoU of 0.70. The tooth detection module achieved a recall of 0.99 and a precision of 0.99. The tooth numbering module had a recall, precision and F1 score of 0.98.

Conclusion:

The resultant automated method achieved high performance for automated tooth detection and numbering from OPG images. Deep learning can be helpful in the automatic filing of dental charts in general dentistry and forensic medicine.
Η εκπαίδευση των χαρισματικών και ταλαντούχων μαθητών
Authors: Καραγιάννη Ελένη
Published: October 2021

Ως χαρισματικοί και ταλαντούχοι θεωρούνται οι μαθητές που αποδίδουν ή επιδεικνύουν δυνατότητα για επίδοση σε αξιοσημείωτα υψηλά επίπεδα ολοκλήρωσης, σε σύγκριση με άλλα άτομα με την ίδια ηλικία, εμπειρία ή περιβάλλον, σε τομείς όπως η διανόηση, η τέχνη και η δημιουργία και διαθέτουν μία ασυνήθιστη ικανότητα ηγεσίας ή αριστείας σε συγκεκριμένους ακαδημαϊκούς τομείς, με αποτέλεσμα να χρήζουν εκπαιδευτικών υπηρεσιών και διδακτικών δραστηριοτήτων, που δεν παρέχονται στα σχολεία. Σκοπός της έρευνας είναι να παρουσιάσει στρατηγικές εκπαίδευσης, αλλά και τη συμβολή των εκπαιδευτικών για τον εντοπισμό και την ενίσχυση των ταλέντων των προικισμένων μαθητών. Τα ευρήματα έδειξαν ότι οι κυρίαρχες τεχνικές είναι η διαφοροποιημένη διδασκαλία, ο εμπλουτισμός, η επιτάχυνση και η εστίαση, που σε συνδυασμό με την διαμόρφωση πρόσφορων παιδαγωγικών συνθηκών από ικανούς δασκάλους, θα συμβάλλουν ώστε οι δυνατότητές τους να αναπτυχθούν σε εξέχοντα  επιτεύγματα. Συμπερασματικά, προκύπτει ότι όταν εμπνευσμένοι εκπαιδευτικοί είναι σε θέση να αναγνωρίσουν έγκαιρα αυτούς τους μαθητές, παρέχοντάς τους τα κατάλληλα εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα, που ανταποκρίνονται στις ιδιαίτερες ανάγκες και τις ικανότητες τους, θα τους επιτρέψουν να βελτιστοποιήσουν τα ταλέντα τους, στοχεύοντας στην αριστεία προς όφελος των ίδιων και του κοινωνικού συνόλου.
Το τρίπτυχο της χαρισματικότητας, της ευφυΐας και της δημιουργικότητας
Authors: Καραγιάννη Ελένη
Published: October 2021

Η χαρισματικότητα αποτελεί μία πολυδιάστατη έννοια, που συνίσταται στην αλληλεπίδραση ενδογενών και εξωτερικών παραγόντων και οδηγεί το άτομο στην επίτευξη υψηλών στόχων. Για πολλά χρόνια, η χαρισματικότητα ταυτίστηκε με την ευφυΐα, που θεωρήθηκε ως εγγενής ικανότητα του ατόμου. Σκοπός της έρευνας είναι να εξετάσει την έννοια της χαρισματικότητας, να καταδείξει τη σχέση της με τις έννοιες της ευφυΐας και της δημιουργικότητας και να διερευνήσει το βαθμό της επίδρασής τους στην ανάδυση της χαρισματικής συμπεριφοράς. Τα ευρήματα έδειξαν ότι μία μονολιθική θεώρηση της χαρισματικότητας που την εξισώνει με την κληρονομική ευφυΐα  και η αποτύπωσή της αποκλειστικά μέσω ενός υψηλού δείκτη νοημοσύνης, δε συνάδει με τα νεότερα ερευνητικά δεδομένα, που αναδεικνύουν ότι η χαρισματικότητα δεν αποτελεί ένα σύνολο στατικών χαρακτηριστικών, γενετικά καθορισμένων στο άτομο. Εξάλλου, διαφάνηκε ότι και η νοημοσύνη έχει δυναμική φύση και μεταβάλλεται συγχρόνως με το εσωτερικό και εξωτερικό περιβάλλον του ατόμου. Επιπλέον, κατέστησαν σαφή τον καταλυτικό ρόλο της δημιουργικότητας για την εμφάνιση και αναγνώριση της χαρισματικής συμπεριφοράς. Συμπερασματικά, προκύπτει ότι η ευφυΐα σε συνδυασμό με τη δημιουργικότητα μπορεί να αποτελέσουν τους καταλύτες για την εκδήλωση της χαρισματικότητας και τα εξαιρετικά επιτεύγματα του ατόμου, προς όφελος του κοινωνικού συνόλου.
Collective Memory and Political Mythologies: Eleftherios Venizelos in Greek Postwar Historiography, 1945–1967
Authors: Triantafyllou Christos
Published: October 2021

During the first decades after the Second World War, Greek society had to deal with a vast array of issues, including its relationship with the past. In this context, Eleftherios Venizelos, a great statesman of the early twentieth century, was frequently used both as a symbol in contemporary political debates and as a metonymy in various attempts to contextualise the history of the first half of the century. An important part of these attempts was the corpus of public narratives produced about Venizelos and his era, either as historiographical accounts or autobiographical texts. These narratives, published in newspapers and books, were not, for the most part, academic; their authors were usually journalists, retired military officers, or politicians, who formed a political-historical nexus and who produced a new discourse on a historical period which had hitherto received little or no historiographical attention. In fact, this discourse left its mark on Greek political and historical culture for decades to come.
Anna Matthaiou, Οικογένεια και σεξουαλικότητα: Μεταξύ παράδοσης και νεωτερικότητας (ελληνικές μαρτυρίες, 17ος–αρχές 19ου αι.) [Family and sexuality: Between tradition and modernity (Greek testimonies, 17th–early 19th centuries)]
Authors: Dialeti Androniki
Published: October 2021

Review of Anna Matthaiou. Οικογένεια και σεξουαλικότητα: Μεταξύ παράδοσης και νεωτερικότητας (ελληνικές μαρτυρίες, 17ος–αρχές 19ου αι.) [Family and sexuality: Between tradition and modernity (Greek testimonies, 17th–early 19th centuries)]. Athens: Melissa, 2019. 276 pp.
David Vincent, A History of Solitude
Authors: Petri Rolf
Published: October 2021

Review of David Vincent. A History of Solitude. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2020. 341 pp.
Survival models for right censored breast cancer data: theory, application and comparison
Authors: Liaqat Madiha , Kamal Shahid , Fischer Florian , Fazil Waqas
Published: October 2021

Background: Censoring frequently occurs in disease data analysis, which is a key characteristic of time to failure modeling. Typically, time to failure studies are conducted through non-parametric and semi-parametric modelling techniques. Parametric models provide more efficient estimates, but are seldomly used, because of some of the limitations and assumptions which need to be fulfilled to apply them. The aim of this study is to illustrate the theoretical and application limitations and performance of different flexible and standard parametric models to evaluate the prognostic value for mortality risk of breast cancer after recurrence among women.

Methods: This article describes the theoretical properties of flexible parametric models and compares their performances to standard parametric models, by studying mortality in women diagnosed with breast cancer. We describe how time to failure data may be analyzed with nonlinear flexible models. In this regard, we apply fractional polynomials, spline models, piecewise exponential models, and piecewise exponential additive mixed models. We also illustrate properties of standard parametric models. All analyses have been conducted with multiple covariates to identify significant predictors. Information criteria have been used to evaluate performances of models.

Results: Fractional polynomial and spline-based generalized additive models work well in capturing local fluctuations. Parameter estimation with a piecewise exponential additive mixed model (PAMM) as an extension of the piecewise exponential modelling (PEM) approach automatically penalizes model complexity, which is very helpful to avoid over fitting.

Conclusions: Flexible parametric time to failure models are more efficient than standard parametric time to failure models. By incorporating time dependent covariates, PAMM is a good approach to perform in-depth studies of predictors over different finite intervals of follow-up time. Until now, this approach is rarely used in time to failure right censored studies.
Circulating microparticles are increased amongst people presenting with HIV and advanced immune suppression in Malawi and correlate closely with arterial stiffness: a nested case control study
Authors: Kelly Christine , Gurung Rijan , Kamng'ona Raphael , Sheha Irene , Chammudzi Mishek , Jambo Kondwani , Mallewa Jane , Rapala Alicja , Heyderman Rob , Mallon Patrick , Mwandumba Henry , Khoo Saye , Klein Nigel
Published: October 2021

Background: We aimed to investigate whether circulating microparticle (CMPs) subsets were raised amongst people presenting with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and advanced immune suppression in Malawi, and whether they associated with arterial stiffness.

Methods: Antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve adults with a new HIV diagnosis and CD4 <100 cells/µL had microparticle characterisation and carotid femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (cfPWV) at 2 weeks post ART initiation. HIV uninfected controls were matched on age, systolic blood pressure (BP) and diastolic BP in a 1:1 ratio.  Circulating microparticles were identified from platelet poor plasma and stained for endothelial, leucocyte, monocyte and platelet markers.

Results: The median (IQ) total CMP count for 71 participants was 1 log higher in HIV compared to those without (p<0.0001) and was associated with arterial stiffness (spearman rho 0.47, p<0.001). In adjusted analysis, every log increase in circulating particles showed a 20% increase in cfPWV (95% confidence interval [CI] 4 – 40%, p=0.02). In terms of subsets, endothelial and platelet derived microparticles were most strongly associated with HIV. Endothelial derived E-selectin+ CMPs were 1.3log-fold higher and platelet derived CD42a+ CMPs were 1.4log-fold higher (both p<0.0001). Endothelial and platelet derived CMPs also correlated most closely with arterial stiffness (spearman rho: E-selectin+ 0.57 and CD42a 0.56, both p<0.0001).

Conclusions: Circulating microparticles associate strongly with arterial stiffness among people living with HIV in Malawi. Endothelial damage and platelet microparticles are the predominant cell origin types and future translational studies could consider prioritising these pathways.
chaste codegen: automatic CellML to C++ code generation with fixes for singularities and automatically generated Jacobians
Authors: Hendrix Maurice , Clerx Michael , Tamuri Asif U , Keating Sarah M , Johnstone Ross H , Cooper Jonathan , Mirams Gary R
Published: October 2021

Hundreds of different mathematical models have been proposed for describing electrophysiology of various cell types. These models are quite complex (nonlinear systems of typically tens of ODEs and sometimes hundreds of parameters) and software packages such as the Cancer, Heart and Soft Tissue Environment (Chaste) C++ library have been designed to run simulations with these models in isolation or coupled to form a tissue simulation. The complexity of many of these models makes sharing and translating them to new simulation environments difficult. CellML is an XML format that offers a solution to this problem and has been widely-adopted. This paper specifically describes the capabilities of chaste_codegen, a Python-based CellML to C++ converter based on the new cellmlmanip Python library for reading and manipulating CellML models. While chaste_codegen is a Python 3 redevelopment of a previous Python 2 tool (called PyCML) it has some additional new features that this paper describes. Most notably, chaste_codegen has the ability to generate analytic Jacobians without the use of proprietary software, and also to find singularities occurring in equations and automatically generate and apply linear approximations to prevent numerical problems at these points.
Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on vulnerable populations in Malaysia through an ethical lens: A study of NGOs and organizations involved in aid distribution
Authors: Nungsari Melati , Hui Yin Chuah , Fong Nicole , Pillai Veena
Published: October 2021

Background: Globally, vulnerable populations have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent responses, such as lockdown measures and mass vaccinations. Numerous ethical challenges have arisen at different levels, be it at the policy-making level or on the ground. For example, policymakers have to contain a highly contagious disease with high morbidity using scarce resources, while minimizing the medium- to long-term social and economic impacts induced by containment measures. This study explores the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations in Malaysia by using an intersectional framework that accounts for overlapping forms of marginalization.  

Methods: This study utilizes in-depth qualitative data obtained from 34 individuals and organizations to understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on vulnerable populations in Malaysia. We utilize four principles of ethics to guide our coding and interpretation of the data – namely beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and autonomy. We utilize a frequency analysis to roughly understand the types of ethical issues that emerged. Using hermeneutic content analysis (HCA), we then explore how the principles interact with each other.

Results: Through the frequently analysis, we found that although beneficence was very prevalent in our dataset, so was a significant amount of harm – as perpetuated through injustice, the removal or lack of autonomy and maleficence. We also unearthed a worrying landscape of harm and deep systemic issues associated with a lack of support for vulnerable households – further exacerbated during the pandemic.

Conclusions: Policy recommendations for aid organizations and society to mitigate these ethical problems are presented, such as long overdue institutional reforms and stronger ethical practices rooted in human rights principles, which government agencies and aid providers can then use in the provision of aid to vulnerable populations.
Personal Freedom in Estonian Marriage Law between 1918 and 1940
Authors: Kiirend-Pruuli Katrin
Published: October 2021

Although Estonia started to develop its own legal system after gaining independence in 1918, many of the old laws from the Russian Empire remained in force in the interim. Soon, Estonia started to develop its own civil code. The old Baltic Private Law Code was highly patriarchal, and various aspects of family law reform were extensively discussed throughout the 1920s and 1930s. While the need for reform was widely accepted, opinions as to its extent varied considerably: female lawyers, inspired by Scandinavian laws, fought for the greatest possible degree of freedom and equality between spouses, while conservative politicians preferred more moderate changes. The article examines two main questions connected with the developments of those times – how much freedom the state gave to spouses for regulating their personal and proprietary relations and how much personal freedom the wife had in comparison to the husband. The norms regulating personal relations, the statutory matrimonial property regime, and the contract related to marital property are analysed in connection with efforts to identify the merits and reasonable limits of personal freedom in marriage. The family law in force in the 1920s and 1930s is compared with draft forms of the Estonian Civil Code, for uncovering how the compilers of the new version achieved balance between modern liberal ideas of personal freedom and traditional concerns about upholding stability of marriage.
Regulating the Unregulatable: An Estonian Perspective on the CLOUD Act and the E-Evidence Proposal
Authors: Laurits Eneli
Published: October 2021

The article evaluates the effects of the CLOUD Act and the E-Evidence Proposal on state actions involving extraterritorial collection of evidence. Particular attention is given to Estonia, which has no regulation in place in this regard – neither on computer system searches nor on extraterritorial data-gathering. The discussion is aimed at ascertaining whether unauthorised extraterritorial data collection creates admissibility problems in states such as Estonia. The author’s analysis evaluates whether these problems are solved with the CLOUD Act and E-Evidence Proposal, with the conclusion that European countries are a far cry from clarity on the subject and that in the absence of national rules, clarity will never come about. The critical issue for Estonia and other states that lack specific computer-system search regulations is that no justification for searches of computer systems or extraterritorial data-gathering is to be found, whether in domestic rules or in the international agreements in place. States such as Estonia are going to continue facing problems when data are needed anywhere other than from a US or European ISP or when data are collected via methods that do not involve recourse to assistance (e.g., surveillance measures), since no justification is available for such extraterritorial collection of digital data.
Satisfaction of Secondary Education teacher in Spain through TALIS.
Authors: Echeverría-Molina Ignacio , Sanchez-Cabrero Roberto
Published: October 2021

La satisfacción del docente es un aspecto de la educación que tradicionalmente ha sido motivo de estudio por su gran influencia sobre el ejercicio profesional. TALIS 2018 es un estudio llevado a cabo por la OCDE que incluye un extenso cuestionario para docentes y directores de centros educativos y que cubre numerosos aspectos de la práctica docente. TALIS 2018 recoge las respuestas de 7407 docentes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en España y de los 396 directores de los centros donde trabajan. A partir de las respuestas de cada docente, se construye una escala de satisfacción que refleja su satisfacción con la profesión y con su puesto de trabajo. En el presente trabajo, utilizando la base de datos de TALIS 2018, Volúmenes I y II, se analizan las variables que más influyen en la satisfacción de los docentes de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en España. Se encuentra que las variables más relacionadas con la satisfacción del docente son la participación de profesores, alumnos y familias en las decisiones del centro, la cantidad de estrés presente en el trabajo, la apertura del centro a nuevas iniciativas, el apoyo entre docentes, la relación con los alumnos y la percepción de la propia eficacia que, a su vez, se relaciona con una mejor formación del docente. Se observa que los docentes con más años de experiencia presentan niveles inferiores de satisfacción y se analizan las diferencias observadas con respecto a docentes con menos experiencia. Se encuentra que las fuentes de satisfacción de los docentes en centros educativos presentan diferencias en función del grado de financiación pública del centro, aunque los niveles medios de satisfacción sean similares. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se elabora una lista de recomendaciones para centros educativos.
Teamwork in surgical specialties: an evaluation
Authors: Sisk Louis John , Stevens Jarrad M
Published: October 2021

Background/Aims

Teamwork is the cornerstone of patient safety, with effective communication being essential for producing fewer complications during a patient's stay in hospital. In 2018, The Royal College of Surgeons of England published ‘The High Performing Surgical Team’, which outlined the components of a high-functioning team broken down into seven attributes: individual, team, trust, conflict resolution, commitment to task, accountability and results. This study evaluated teamwork among surgical specialties in a single centre.

Methods

Team members completed a survey consisting of seven sections, based on the Royal College of Surgeons of England components of teamworking, scoring statements using a 4-point Likert scale. Respondents included surgical doctors (interns, residents, registrars, fellows and consultants) and nurses (ward and theatre) from 12 surgical teams. Sections with 20% of more negative answers were considered to indicate a significant negative team attribute in that area of teamworking.

Results

Of the 108 respondents, 73 (67.6%) doctors and 35 (35.4%) nurses noted negative team attributes across all staff grades in at least two of the seven attributes (accountability and results), except registrars, who had one (accountability) of the seven negative attributes. Interns were reported as having negative attributes in four of the attributes (conflict resolution, commitment to task, accountability and results), while residents had negative attributes in three area (commitment to task, accountability and results).

Conclusions

The more junior the member of the team, the more likely they are to have negative teamworking attributes. Further evaluation would be of use to investigate whether these results are generalisable to other cohorts and to provide opportunities to improve teamwork and, therefore, patient care.
How street-level bureaucrats use conceptual systems to categorise clients
Authors: Lotta Gabriela , Kirschbaum Charles
Published: October 2021

This study analyses how street-level bureaucrats’ categorisation of citizens is embedded within conceptual systems. We observe the process of categorisation as embedded in cultural schemata used by street-level bureaucrats. We provided vignettes to 40 teachers in São Paulo public schools to observe how they categorise similar behaviours of students within different social contexts. We then determined if there were differences in the systems of categories created and actions proposed to deal with similar behaviours in different contexts. The data showed that, depending on the way in which context triggered the teachers’ system of categorisation, distinct actions were proposed. These different actions produced different types of deservingness that, in the case analysed here, are related to actions inside or outside the school. These findings have important implications for policymakers in ensuring more equal access to services for students requiring additional support in the classroom.
Inhibition of stimulated Raman side-scattering with one-dimensional smoothing by spectral dispersion
Authors: Kang Ning , Liu Huiya , Zhou Shenlei , Zhao Yao , Lei Anle
Published: October 2021

Smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) is a beam smoothing technology aiming at improving irradiance uniformity in laser inertial confinement fusion, which has the potential to suppress many kinds of laser–plasma instabilities. Different effectivenesses of SSD on the suppression of instabilities were reported in previous works, suggesting SSD has different effects on different instabilities under various laser and plasma conditions. In this paper, inhibition of stimulated Raman side-scattering, deduced from the decrease in side-scattered light and hot electrons, in plastic plasmas at moderate laser intensity is observed in experiments with the application of one-dimensional SSD, the reason for which is deduced to be related to the suppression of filamentation. In contrast, two-plasmon decay and backward Raman scattering were not effectively suppressed by SSD in the experiments, the reason for which could be attributed to the limited modulation frequency and the directions of growth with respect to SSD induced rapid motion of laser spots.
Enhancement of 1532 nm emission in Ce3+, Er3+ co-doped Ca1.5Y1.5Al3.5Si1.5O12
Authors: Wang Haitao , Zhao Yaoxiang , Xiao Siguo , Yang Xiaoliang
Published: October 2021

Near-infrared emission material,

C

e

3
+

,

E

r

3
+

co-doped

C

a

1.5

Y

1.5

A

l

3.5

S

i

1.5

O

12

has been synthesized via a high-temperature solid-state reaction method. The luminescence intensity of 1532 nm emission excited with 455 nm increases 4.2 times after the introduction of

C

e

3
+

ions because of

C

e

3
+

→

E

r

3
+

radiation-reabsorption energy transfer and nonradiative energy transfer sensitization as well as the

4

I

11

/

2

(

E

r

3
+

)

+

2

F

5

/

2

(

C

e

3
+

)

→
4

I

13

/

2

(

E

r

3
+

)
+

C

e

3
+

(
2

F

7

/

2

)

cross relaxation between

C

e

3
+

and

E

r

3
+

ions. The result shows that the developed material is convenient to obtain high-efficiency, near-infrared emission using a commercial blue GaN LED as a pumping source.
Laser-induced dynamic alignment and nonlinear-like optical transmission in liquid suspensions of 2D atomically thin nanomaterials
Authors: Zhang Qiuhui , Wang Yanan , Lin Feng , Tang Yingjie , Cheng Peihong , Zhou Xufeng , Zhu Zhuan , Ma Yayao , Liu Zhaoping , Liu Dong , Liu Laichen , Qin Chengzhen , Chen Zhongchen , Wang Zhiming , Bao Jiming
Published: October 2021

Nonlinear optical property of atomically thin materials suspended in liquid has attracted a lot of attention recently due to the rapid development of liquid exfoliation methods. Here we report laser-induced dynamic orientational alignment and nonlinear-like optical response of the suspensions as a result of their intrinsic anisotropic properties and thermal convection of solvents. Graphene and graphene oxide suspensions are used as examples, and the transition to ordered states from initial optically isotropic suspensions is revealed by birefringence imaging. Computational fluid dynamics is performed to simulate the velocity evolution of convection flow and understand alignment-induced birefringence patterns. The optical transmission of these suspensions exhibits nonlinear-like saturable or reverse saturable absorptions in Z-scan measurements with both nanosecond and continuous-wave lasers. Our findings not only demonstrate a non-contact controlling of macroscopic orientation and collective optical properties of nanomaterial suspensions by laser but also pave the way for further explorations of optical properties and novel device applications of low-dimensional nanomaterials.
Detection of GDF11 by using a Ti3C2-MXene-based fiber SPR biosensor
Authors: Liu Chunlan , Wang Rui , Shao Yabin , Chen Chen , Wu Ping , Wei Yong , Gao Yachen
Published: October 2021

In the research of resistant aging, the concentration of Growth differentiation factor-11(GDF11) is an indispensable parameter. So the accurate detection of GDF11 is very important in life science and medical cosmetology. Hereby, we proposed and demonstrated a simple method to detect low concentration GDF11 by using fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor decorated with two-dimension (2D) material Ti3C2-MXene and gold nanosphere. The sensitivity of the fiber SPR sensor was increased to be 4804.64nm/RIU. After functionalized with GDF11 antibody, the fiber SPR sensor could specifically recognize GDF11, and the limit of detection (LOD) can reach 0.577pg/L which is 100 times lower than that of single-molecule ELISA method.
Optical design and evaluation of an advanced scanning Dyson imaging spectrometer for ocean color
Authors: Wu Su , Huang Chan , Yu Lei , Xue Hui , Lin Jing
Published: October 2021

An advanced Dyson imaging spectrometer in the near ultraviolet-visible-near infrared region was designed, fabricated, and evaluated. A lens with reflective coating on the back surface is applying to replace the traditional lens-reflecting grating combination. The design concept and fabrication and alignment methods as well as the results of evaluations of the proposed spectrometer are described in detail. The advanced imaging spectrometer achieves high resolution in both spectral and spatial direction and low stray light at a high numerical aperture in the working waveband. The performance of this modified porotype is analyzed and evaluated. Results show the spectrometer is well suited for the remote sensing of the ocean color as well as for various agriculture and vegetation-related applications.
Extended range and aberration-free autofocusing via remote focusing and sequence-dependent learning
Authors: Cui Jiahe , Turcotte Raphaël , Emptage Nigel J. , Booth Martin J.
Published: October 2021

Rapid autofocusing over long distances is critical for tracking 3D topological variations and sample motion in real time. Taking advantage of a deformable mirror and Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, remote focusing can permit fast axial scanning with simultaneous correction of system-induced aberrations. Here, we report an autofocusing technique that combines remote focusing with sequence-dependent learning via a bidirectional long short term memory network. A 120 µm autofocusing range was achieved in a compact reflectance confocal microscope both in air and in refractive-index-mismatched media, with similar performance under arbitrary-thickness liquid layers up to 1 mm. The technique was validated on sample types not used for network training, as well as for tracking of continuous axial motion. These results demonstrate that the proposed technique is suitable for real-time aberration-free autofocusing over a large axial range, and provides unique advantages for biomedical, holographic and other related applications.
Analyzing and modulating energy transfer in ternary-emissive system of quantum dot light-emitting diodes towards efficient emission
Authors: Tan Yangzhi , Xiao Xiangtian , Gui Sizhe , Sun Jiayun , Ye Taikang , Ma Jingrui , Wang Zhaojin , Qiu Mingxia , Sun Xiao Wei , Wu Dan , Wang Kai
Published: October 2021

The mechanisms for energy transfer including Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and radiative energy transfer in ternary-emissive system consists of blended-quantum dots (QDs, red-QDs blended with blue-QDs) emissive layer (EML) and blue-emissive hole-transport material that contained in quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) are complicated. As the energy transfer could exhibit either positive or negative impact on QD’s photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL), it is important to analyze and modulate energy transfer in such ternary-emissive system to obtain high-efficiency QLEDs. In this work, we have demonstrated that proper B-QDs doping has a positive impact on R-QDs’ PL and EL, where these improvements were attributed to the B-QDs’ spacing effect on R-QDs which weakens homogeneous FRET among R-QDs and near 100% efficient heterogeneous FRET from B-QDs to R-QDs. With optimization based on the analysis of energy transfer, the PL quantum yield of blended-QDs (with R:B blending ratio of 90:10, in quality) film has been enhanced by 35% compared with that of unblended R-QDs film. Moreover, thanks to the spacing effect and high-efficiency FRET from B-QDs to R-QDs, the external quantum efficiency of QLEDs that integrate optimized blended-QDs (R:B=90:10) EML reaches 22.1%, which is 15% higher than that of the control sample (19.2%) with unblended R-QDs EML. This work provides a systematically analytical method to study the energy transfer in ternary-emissive system, and gives a valid reference for the analysis and development of the emerging QLEDs that with blended-QDs EML.
Calibration method of multi-projector display system with extra-large FOV and quantitative registration accuracy analysis
Authors: Hou Yanli , Su Xianyu , Chen Wenjing , Zhao Wenjing
Published: October 2021

The calibration of multi-projector display with extra-large field of view (FOV) and quantitative registration analysis for realizing perfect visual splicing is crucial and difficult. In this paper, we present a novel calibration method to realize the seamless splicing for a multi-projector display system with extra-large FOV. The display consists of 24 projectors, covering the range of 360 degrees in the longitude direction and 210 degrees in the latitude direction. A wide-angle camera fixed on a rotating optical system is used to scan the entire display scene and establish point-to-point correspondence between projector pixels and spatial points using the longitude and latitude information. Local longitude table and latitude table are established on the target of the wide-angle camera. A deterministic method is proposed to locate the North Pole of the display. The local tables corresponding to different camera views can be unified based on the image of the North Pole to form global longitude and latitude tables of arbitrary free-form surface. The mapping between the projector pixels and the camera pixels is established by inverse projection technique, and then each pixel of each projector can be appointed a pair of unique longitude and latitude values. A quantitative registration accuracy analysis method is proposed for multi-projector display system, in which, three-frequency temporal unwrapping method based on coded longitude and latitude values is applied to calculate the registration accuracy. Experiments prove that the registration error of the multi-projector system is less than 0.4 pixels.
High-purity orbital angular momentum vortex beam generator using an amplitude-and-phase metasurface
Authors: Zheng Sen , Hao Honggang , Tang Yihao , Ran Xuehong
Published: October 2021

In this Letter, we propose an approach to generate high-purity orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortex waves using an amplitude-and-phase metasurface (APM). By varying the square split ring opening and orientation angles, the cross-polarized reflection response of the proposed structure can yield full phase and amplitude coverage. Based on the traditional phase-only metasurface (POM), the Chebyshev synthesis method (CSM) is applied to array the metasurface amplitude distribution. Metasurfaces with modes

l

of 1, 2, 3, and 4 are designed. Compared with the POM, the APM can effectively improve the vortex beam quality and OAM mode purity. The measured results agree well with full-wave simulations. The presented method provides a new, to the best of our knowledge, way to design high-purity OAM generators based on metasurfaces.
Plasmonic hot-carriers and their applications: opinion
Authors: Reddy Harsha , Shalaev Vladimir M.
Published: October 2021

The generation of nonequilibrium hot-carriers from the decay of surface plasmons has been attracting intense research attention in the last decade due to both the fundamental aspects of extreme light-matter interactions and potential practical applications. Here, we overview the physics associated with plasmon-assisted hot-carrier generation and outline the key applications of hot-carrier processes for photodetection, photovoltaics and photocatalysis. We also discuss the recent developments in employing molecular tunnel junctions as barriers for extracting hot-carriers and provide an outlook on the potential of this emerging field for sustainable energy.
Carbonic Anhydrases II and IX in Non-ampullary Duodenal Adenomas and Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Nortunen Minna , Parkkila Seppo , Saarnio Juha , Huhta Heikki , Karttunen Tuomo J.
Published: October 2021

Non-ampullary duodenal adenocarcinoma (DAC) is a rare malignancy. Little information is available concerning the histopathological prognostic factors associated with DAC. Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are metalloenzymes catalyzing the universal reaction of CO2 hydration. Isozymes CAII, CAIX, and CAXII are associated with prognosis in various cancers. Our aim was to analyze the immunohistochemical expressions of CAII, CAIX, and CAXII in normal duodenal epithelium, duodenal adenomas, and adenocarcinoma and their associations with clinicopathological variables and survival. Our retrospective study included all 27 DACs treated in Oulu University Hospital during years 2000–2020. For comparison, samples of 42 non-ampullary adenomas were collected. CAII expression was low in duodenal adenomas and adenocarcinoma. CAIX expression in adenomas and adenocarcinoma was comparable with the high expression of normal duodenal crypts. Expression patterns in carcinomas were largely not related to clinicopathological features. However, low expression of CAII associated with poorer differentiation of the tumor ( p=0.049) and low expression of CAIX showed a trend for association with nodal spread, although statistical significance was not reached ( p=0.091). CAII and CAIX lost their epithelial polarization and staining intensity in adenomas. CAXII expression was not detected in the studied samples. CAs were not associated with survival. The prognostic value of CAII and CAIX downregulation should be further investigated. Both isozymes may serve as biomarkers of epithelial dysplasia in the duodenum.