bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The large‐scale community‐based programme ‘Suchana’ improved maternal healthcare practices in north‐eastern Bangladesh: Findings from a cluster randomized pre‐post study
Authors: Haque Md Ahshanul , Choudhury Nuzhat , Ahmed S. M. Tanvir , Farzana Fahmida Dil , Ali Mohammad , Naz Farina , Raihan Mohammad Jyoti , Rahman Sheikh Shahed , Siddiqua Towfida Jahan , Faruque Abu Syed Golam , Ahmed Tahmeed
Published: September 2021

Adequate maternal healthcare practices are crucial to both maternal and infant nutrition outcomes. The Sylhet region of Bangladesh is vulnerable and performs poorly, as maternal and child health indicators are falling behind compared to other areas. Suchana, a large‐scale intervention programme aims to improve the health and nutritional status of mothers and children in this region. The objective of the present analysis is to assess the changes in indicators related to maternal healthcare practices among Suchana beneficiaries. We obtained data from the Suchana baseline and endline evaluation survey. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize data. The following maternal healthcare practices were considered: if a Suchana beneficiary mother received antenatal care (ANC) from skilled service providers, took day time resting during pregnancy, consumed additional diet during pregnancy, took at least 100 iron‐folic acid (IFA) tablets during pregnancy and took a vitamin A capsule after delivery. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of the Suchana intervention on maternal healthcare practices. The prevalence of the outcome variables at endline in the intervention area were as follows: 40% of mothers received at least four ANC from skilled service providers, 50% practiced daytime resting during pregnancy, 51% consumed additional diet during pregnancy, 41% took at least 100 iron‐folic acid tablets during pregnancy, 39% received postnatal care and 30% took a vitamin A capsule after delivery. The Suchana intervention significantly, positively improved indicators related to maternal healthcare practices; these findings support future larger‐scale programmes to improve maternal healthcare practices among vulnerable people in rural Bangladesh.
Bayesian probabilistic representation of complex systems: With application to wave load modeling
Authors: Glavind Sebastian T. , Brüske Henning , Christensen Erik D. , Faber Michael H.
Published: September 2021

In this contribution, we develop and present a Bayesian probabilistic framework for the representation of complex systems and apply this to an industrial case of offshore environmental load modeling. Based on previous contributions on probabilistic modeling using Bayesian networks, we consider the case where both the model structure and its parameters are estimated from data. Gaussian process‐based discrepancy modeling is introduced to represent uncertainties associated with data, when data are produced by models themselves. Two approaches are then introduced on how to deal with multiple model candidates, that is, Bayesian model averaging and decision context‐specific model selection. The latter comprising the main novelty of this paper. Two examples are provided: (i) a principal example illustrating the simple but fundamental idea of context‐specific model building and (ii) an industrial‐scale example considering optimal ranking of evacuation options for platform personnel in the event of an emerging storm.
Prevalence and risk factors for gastrointestinal symptoms after recovery from COVID‐19
Authors: Blackett John W. , Li Jianhua , Jodorkovsky Daniela , Freedberg Daniel E.
Published: September 2021

Background

COVID‐19 frequently presents with acute gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, but it is unclear how common these symptoms are after recovery. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and characteristics of GI symptoms after COVID‐19.

Methods

The medical records of patients hospitalized with COVID‐19 between March 1 and June 30, 2020, were reviewed for the presence of GI symptoms at primary care follow‐up 1 to 6 months later. The prevalence of new GI symptoms was estimated, and risk factors were assessed. Additionally, an anonymous survey was used to determine the prevalence of new GI symptoms among online support groups for COVID‐19 survivors.

Key Results

Among 147 patients without pre‐existing GI conditions, the most common GI symptoms at the time of hospitalization for COVID‐19 were diarrhea (23%), nausea/vomiting (21%), and abdominal pain (6.1%), and at a median follow‐up time of 106 days, the most common GI symptoms were abdominal pain (7.5%), constipation (6.8%), diarrhea (4.1%), and vomiting (4.1%), with 16% reporting at least one GI symptom at follow‐up (95% confidence interval 11 to 23%). Among 285 respondents to an online survey for self‐identified COVID‐19 survivors without pre‐existing GI symptoms, 113 (40%) reported new GI symptoms after COVID‐19 (95% CI 33.9 to 45.6%).

Conclusion and inferences

At a median of 106 days after discharge following hospitalization for COVID‐19, 16% of unselected patients reported new GI symptoms at follow‐up. 40% of patients from COVID survivor groups reported new GI symptoms. The ongoing GI effects of COVID‐19 after recovery require further study.
Human resource management as a tool to control corruption: Evidence from Mexican municipal governments
Authors: Nieto‐Morales Fernando , Ríos Viridiana
Published: September 2021

Principal‐agent models of corruption control that emphasize rules, incentives, and sanctions as prime antecedents of corruption often stop short when evaluating how these general principles translate into concrete Human Resource Management (HRM) policies. Following a call to develop research about how day‐to‐day public management operations change incentives to be corrupt, we use data of 5.22 million USD audited to 545 local Mexican governments over 3 years to test the correlation between the misappropriation of public funds and specific HRM functions. Our results suggest that HRM is a critical, underseen factor in understanding the risk of corruption. In line with previous findings, we show that having merit‐based recruitment can prevent corruption. However, we also find that having performance and departmental evaluations and a less unequal structure of remunerations may also help local governments effectively avoid the misappropriation of public money.
YAP facilitates melanoma migration through regulation of actin‐related protein 2/3 complex subunit 5 (ARPC5)
Authors: Lui Jason W. , Moore Stephen P.G. , Huang Lee , Ogomori Kelsey , Li Yan , Lang Deborah
Published: September 2021

Yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ‐binding motif (TAZ) are transcriptional coactivators that have been implicated in driving metastasis and progression in many cancers, mainly through their transcriptional regulation of downstream targets. Although YAP and TAZ have shown redundancy in many contexts, it is still unknown whether or not this is true in melanoma. Here, we show that while both YAP and TAZ are expressed in a panel of melanoma cell lines, depletion of YAP results in decreased cell numbers, focal adhesions, and the ability to invade matrigel. Using non‐biased RNA‐sequencing analysis, we find that melanoma cells depleted of YAP, TAZ, or YAP/TAZ exhibit drastically different transcriptomes. We further uncover the ARP2/3 subunit ARPC5 as a specific target of YAP but not TAZ and that ARPC5 is essential for YAP‐dependent maintenance of melanoma cell focal adhesion numbers. Our findings suggest that in melanoma, YAP drives melanoma progression, survival, and invasion.
Evaluation of electronic consults for outpatient pediatric patients with dermatologic complaints
Authors: Pahalyants Vartan , Murphy William S. , Gunasekera Nicole S. , Das Shinjita , Hawryluk Elena B. , Kroshinsky Daniela
Published: September 2021

Background

Although dermatologic complaints are frequently encountered by pediatricians, access to pediatric dermatologists remains limited. Teledermatology has been proposed to expand access to dermatologic care for children. We report our experience with a physician‐to‐physician store‐and‐forward teledermatology service (eConsults), focusing on patient and consult characteristics and their relationship with teledermatologist confidence and follow‐up recommendations as well as clinical outcomes.

Methods

We reviewed electronic health records of all pediatric patients referred through eConsults at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1/13/2020 to 7/17/2020. We assessed pediatrician and parental receptiveness with a confidential survey.

Results

A total of 302 referrals (median patient age 4.6 years (IQR 0.6‐12); 54% female) and 310 cases were completed in 1.8 days on average (SD = 1.2). Teledermatologists rated their confidence as definite and moderate in 51.3% and 39.4% cases, respectively. Teledermatologists felt comfortable managing rashes remotely, but patients with alopecia, pigmented and vascular lesions, and warts frequently required formal dermatology evaluation. Among patients seen subsequently, full concordance was seen for 70.1% of diagnoses and 74.4% of management recommendations. All responding pediatricians were satisfied with the service, and 97.5% felt that the parents were receptive to it.

Conclusions

Our study supports the growing evidence that store‐and‐forward teledermatology can quickly and effectively provide the access to pediatric dermatologic care and is well received by pediatricians and parents. To maximize cost‐effectiveness of store‐and‐forward teledermatology, dermatologists should work with referring providers to improve the quality of submitted photographs and patient history as well as advise in‐person referrals for cases likely to require further follow‐up.
The value of photomedicine in a global health crisis: Utilizing ultraviolet C to decontaminate N95 respirators during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Ko Dayoung , Lyons Alexis B. , Kohli Indermeet , Narla Shanthi , Torres Angeli Eloise , Miller Angela , Ozog David , Hamzavi Iltefat , Lim Henry W.
Published: September 2021

One early problem during the height of the COVID‐19 global pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), was the shortage of personal protective equipment donned by healthcare workers, particularly N95 respirators. Given the known virucidal, bactericidal, and fungicidal properties of ultraviolet irradiation, in particular ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation, our photomedicine and photobiology unit explored the role of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) using UVC in effectively decontaminating N95 respirators. The review highlights the important role of photobiology and photomedicine in this pandemic. Namely, the goals of this review were to highlight: UVGI as a method of respirator disinfection—specifically against SARS‐CoV‐2, adverse reactions to UVC and precautions to protect against exposure, other methods of decontamination of respirators, and the importance of respirator fit testing.
Images of Wartime Sexual Violence in the Chronicles of Giovanni Villani and Giovanni Sercambi*
Authors: Bokody Péter
Published: September 2021

Visual evidence on the perception of sexual violence from the communal period of Italy is limited. Diana Wolfthal in her groundbreaking study of medieval and early modern rape imagery showed that representations in these periods could have a critical component, and depicted these atrocities without sanitizing or eroticizing the act. This study develops on Wolfthal’s thesis by examining two sets of contemporary images from fourteenth‐century Tuscany: the Nuova Cronica of Giovanni Villani (1341–48) and the first part of Giovanni Sercambi’s Croniche (c.1400). In these works, the sack of a city appears to be the primary context of large‐scale and excessive sexual violence. In addition to their unanimous condemnatory angle, these texts and images also reveal different ideological motivations. Whereas Villani aimed at discarding the eventual charge of sexual violence against his hometown, Sercambi described the impact of mass rape on some cities. The chronicles use laconic and circumlocutory terms to report about the atrocities, which is matched with the sporadic presence of women in the imagery. In this limited visual language, the construction and destruction of city‐walls and gate may express the harm inflicted on the female bodies and, by extension, on the entire urban community.
Collision Risk Modeling and Analysis for Lateral Separation to Support Unmanned Traffic Management
Authors: Kallinen Valtteri , McFadyen Aaron
Published: September 2021

This article investigates the utility and extension of well‐established collision risk modeling approaches for lateral separation standard development for unmanned traffic management and network design. The applicability of standard assumptions and simplifications made in the manned environment to a scaled‐down unmanned aerial systems (UAS) environment is first investigated. The results are used to derive an iso‐risk surface that shows the tradeoff between separation distance and navigation performance for a given risk level or target level of safety. The model is then extended to consider collision risk from one to tracks, and finally to determine the total collision risk and the related iso‐risk surfaces for systems of parallel tracks with additions to account for the effects of more than two parallel tracks. The extended model is applied to a case study where airspace design for an urban area is conducted via maximization of the number of same‐direction parallel tracks while meeting the target level of safety. The results suggest that lateral separation distances less than 100 m are achievable for small UAS, and that the separation standards are mostly affected by the proportion of poorly navigating aircraft.
Toward a Psychology of Deep Reinforcement Learning Agents Using a Cognitive Architecture
Authors: Mitsopoulos Konstantinos , Somers Sterling , Schooler Joel , Lebiere Christian , Pirolli Peter , Thomson Robert
Published: September 2021

We argue that cognitive models can provide a common ground between human users and deep reinforcement learning (Deep RL) algorithms for purposes of explainable artificial intelligence (AI). Casting both the human and learner as cognitive models provides common mechanisms to compare and understand their underlying decision‐making processes. This common grounding allows us to identify divergences and explain the learner's behavior in human understandable terms. We present novel salience techniques that highlight the most relevant features in each model's decision‐making, as well as examples of this technique in common training environments such as Starcraft II and an OpenAI gridworld.
La acción subrogatoria del asegurador en el transporte marítimo de mercaderías
Authors: Tabares Cortés Felipe
Published: September 2021

En la economía global la regulación del transporte marítimo tiene gran importancia teniendo en cuenta su antigüedad, su volumen y las distancias que actualmente recorren mercancías y materias. En sentencia de 5 de abril de 2021, la Corte Suprema de Justicia de Colombia se refirió a este tema, definiendo el termino de prescripción de la acción subrogatoria del asegurador en el transporte marítimo de mercaderías, específicamente en la avería gruesa. La Corte indicó cuales son las acciones propias del instituto de la avería gruesa y su distinción con el contrato de transporte marítimo de mercaderías.  En este articulo recordamos la noción de la avería gruesa, su régimen jurídico y los elementos característicos de esta institución milenaria del derecho marítimo, en derecho colombiano y en derecho comparado francés.
Contexto geopolítico global, riesgos y cobertura a través de seguros
Authors: Ríos Urzúa Vicente
Published: September 2021

La globalización ha devenido en integración económica, cultural, social y política. Una forma de manifestación evidente de dicha realidad ha sido el constante aumento de proyectos de inversión que involucran a inversionistas de múltiples naciones y a países que poseen economías emergentes o en vías de desarrollo. Un elemento esencial para la seguridad de dicho tipo de inversión es la estabilidad normativa y la previsibilidad regulatoria de la economía que recibe la inversión extranjera, sin embargo, hay realidades sociales y geopolíticas que muchas veces plantean desafíos para el mantenimiento de aquel necesario estándar de certeza y confianza. Los cambios o alteraciones en las condiciones normativas representan riesgos y, dado ese contexto, los inversionistas han debido diseñar estrategias de mitigación o transferencia, surgiendo soluciones desde la industria aseguradora que es necesario entender para diseñar correctas definiciones de inmersión en nuevos mercados.
Opciones HuRLO: una clase de derivado meteorológico para la protección frente al riesgo de huracanes
Authors: Pérez Fructuoso María José
Published: September 2021

Este artículo analiza las características, el funcionamiento y la estructura de un nuevo derivado meteorológico definido como una opción sobre commodities que protege contra el riesgo de que una determinada zona costera de los EE.UU. se vea afectada por la ocurrencia de un huracán durante un año determinado.
El principio de razonabilidad y las expectativas del asegurado
Authors: Núñez Del Prado Simons Alonso
Published: September 2021

El presente artículo luego de exponer los fundamentos de la supervisión del sistema asegurador y los principios del Derecho de seguros, comenta la relación que hay entre el principio de razonabilidad y la doctrina de las expectativas del asegurado del derecho anglosajón que empieza a tener acogida en el Derecho continental. Explica también que pueden entenderse incorporados en el caso peruano por la Ley 29946 del contrato de seguro, vigente desde el mayo de 2013.
¿Displasia fibrosa o fibroma osificante? Caracterización histológica de dos casos inusuales
Authors: Tovío Martínez Eilien G. , Urbano del Valle Samuel E. , Vergara Hernández Clara I. , Díaz-Caballero Antonio José
Published: September 2021

Antecedentes: La displasia fibrosa y el fibroma osificante son patologías benignas que generalmente no presentan sintomatología dolorosa, son poco frecuentes y afectan el tejido óseo. Producen alteraciones estéticas y funcionales, motivo por el cual consultan los pacientes. Objetivo: Describir los desórdenes celulares característicos de la displasia fibrosa y el fibroma osificante, así como su relación con las formas clínicas y otras variables histopatológicas que constituyen un reto para el patólogo oral y el clínico. Descripción de los casos: Se presentan dos casos clínicos de pacientes adultos, hombre y mujer, que acudieron a la Unidad Estomatológica y Cirugía Oral de la Universidad de Cartagena en Colombia, por presentar asimetrías faciales, asintomáticas y unilaterales que comprometían la estética de los pacientes. Se describen sus características clínicas, radiográficas e histológicas. Conclusión: La displasia fibrosa y el fibroma osificante son alteraciones óseas benignas similares que requieren diagnóstico diferencial a fin de establecer tratamientos idóneo y específicos.
Duplicación de prótesis total. Descripción de un caso
Authors: Matiz Cuervo Jimmy
Published: September 2021

Antecedentes: Tradicionalmente, para elaborar una prótesis total se ha llevado a cabo una serie de pasos que continúan siendo esenciales a pesar del avance tecnológico. Sin embargo, en algunos pacientes es difícil adaptar prótesis nuevas. Objetivo: Describir una técnica de duplicación de prótesis totales elaboradas en acrílico de termocurado en la que se simplifican los pasos. Esta técnica busca preservar los mecanorreceptores intraorales y la adaptación muscular que un paciente ha manejado por años con sus prótesis antiguas. Descripción del caso: Un paciente con reabsorción ósea avanzada en ambos maxilares necesitaba cambiar sus prótesis de más de 20 años. Se elaboraron duplicadores similares a los de 3i® en los que se obtuvieron copias similares a las del paciente. Se montaron y terminaron con impresión a boca cerrada simultáneamente de ambos maxilares. Se obtuvieron prótesis definitivas en termocurado con bases similares a las del paciente manteniendo la fisiología neurosensorial, de tal forma que no sintiera el cambio. Conclusiones: La conservación del sistema de sensorreceptores de tacto, frio, presión, calor y actividad muscular es fundamental para el éxito en casos de duplicación protésica. El autor tiene alrededor de 2500 casos de duplicación de dentaduras en una práctica de más de 20 años.
Incisor- Molar Hypomineralization Phenotype Characteristics and Comparison with Amelogenesis Imperfecta: An Approach to a Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Casas Araya Marielos , López Panqueva Eneida , Suárez Castillo Ángela , Gutiérrez Prieto Sandra Janeth
Published: September 2021

Background: Incisor-molar hypomineralization (IMH) presents various clinical characteristics that generate confusion for differential diagnosis with other enamel abnormalities such as amelogenesis imperfecta (AI). Purpose: To analyze dental, facial, and skeletal characteristics in people with IMH and compare them to those with AI in order to identify diagnostic differences between these two enamel defects. Methods: Analytical observational study. Twelve 7-to-10-year-olds with IMH and 10 8-to-49-year-olds with AI were studied. IMH was assessed according to the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s diagnostic criteria, Mathu Maju’s criteria (2006), and Neeti Mittal’s phenotypic classification (2016), while Witkop’s criteria (1989) were used to analyze AI. Clinical, radiographic, facial, and skeletal analyses were performed to establish IMH phenotypes, information that was fed into an Excel® database for subsequent statistical analysis (SPSS 22.0) (p<0.05). Results: Statistically significant differences were found between IMH and AI. Only patients with IA presented dilaceration, dental agenesis, and taurodontism. There are similarities regarding facial features such as facial asymmetry, increased intercanthal distance, decreased lower third, biprochelia and convex profile, and occlusal features such as molar relationship, canine relationship, and overjet. Concerning transverse relationships, micrognathism was more frequent in IMH and in vertical relationships, deep overbite was greater in IMH than in AI. Conclusions: The main differences between IMH and AI were evident in skeletal characteristics and associated dental alterations.
Testing Machine Learning Algorithms for Drilling Incidents Detection on a Pilot Small-Scale Drilling Rig
Authors: Løken Erik Andreas , Løkkevik Jens , Sui Dan
Published: September 2021

In recent years, drilling digitalization and automation have advanced from being automation of rig floor equipment to an idea that is starting to be applied to entire drilling processes. However it is very costly in terms of field testing and validating developed novel technologies. To address this limitation, we take advantage of a laboratory drilling rig to run a large number of drilling tests. By introducing various drilling scenarios while drilling different formations using various combinations of the operational parameters, we could be able to collect a large amount of data for data-driven methods development and testing. The main study in this article is to develop machine learning algorithms for identifying abnormal drilling and test these algorithms on the rig based on the responses of the rig sensors in real-time operations. The idea also helps us determine what the most important parameters or their combinations for drilling incidents detection are, which we could pay greatest attention to make right decisions with the help of drilling data during real-time operations.
Effect of Negative Stiffness Content on the Periodic Motion of Nonlinearly Coupled Oscillators
Authors: Al-Shudeifat Mohammad A.
Published: September 2021

The linear and nonlinear stiffness coupling forces in dynamical oscillators are usually dominated by positive stiffness components. Therefore, plotting the resultant force in y-axis with respect to the change in displacement in x-axis results in an odd symmetry in the first and third quadrants of the xy-plane. However, the appearance of negative stiffness content in coupling elements between dynamical oscillators generates a force that can be dominated by an odd symmetry in the second and fourth quadrants. The underlying nonlinear dynamical behavior of systems employing this kind of force has not been well-studied in the literature. Accordingly, the considered system here is composed of two linear oscillators that are nonlinearly coupled by a force of which the negative stiffness content is dominant. Therefore, the underlying dynamical behavior of the considered system in physical and dimensionless forms is studied on the frequency-energy plots where many backbone curves of periodic solution have been obtained. It is found that within a wide range of nonlinear frequency levels, the nonlinear coupling force is dominated by a strong negative stiffness content at the obtained frequency-energy plots backbones.
Description of Prozercon caspiansis sp. nov. (Acari: Mesostigmata: Zerconidae) from Iran, with descriptions of male and larva of P. dominiaki Błaszak, 1979
Authors: Moghimi Fatemeh , Ahadiyat Ali , Karaca Mehmet , Kiadaliri Hadi , Urhan Raşit
Published: September 2021

A new species of zerconid mites, Prozercon caspiansis sp. nov. is described based on female, male, and protonymph specimens collected from different forestland areas in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. In addition, the male and larval specimens of P. dominiaki Błaszak were found in the same region and described for the first time. An updated key for the Iranian Prozercon species is provided, and the situation of the Iranian genera and species of the family is briefly discussed.
Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Pedagogies for and by Black and Latinx Preservice Physical Education Teachers
Authors: Boyd Korey L. , Simon Mara , Dixon Cory E.
Published: September 2021

Introduction: Physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) are informed by whiteness, resulting in marginalization and forced hypervisibility for community members of color. Culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies (CRSP) facilitate “within group . . . [and] across-group cultural practices” for students and teachers of color to thrive. Purpose: This study highlights CRSP grounded in the experiences of Black and Latinx preservice PE teachers enrolled in predominantly White PETE programs. Methods: For this qualitative visual inquiry, 10 Black and Latinx PETE students each completed three interviews, coupled with participant-generated imagery. Data were analyzed inductively and deductively. Results: Students’ narratives included “othering” and hypervisibility. Participants’ understandings of CRSP illustrated the meaning-making they associated with CRSP. Participants identified co-conspirators, sources of support, and PETE pedagogies within a CRSP framework. Conclusion: The narratives support the call to embed CRSP within PETE programs to center students’ diverse cultural and ethnic identities.
Single-Component and Two-Component
para
-Nitrophenol Monooxygenases: Structural Basis for Their Catalytic Difference
Authors: Guo Yuan , Li De-Feng , Zheng Jianting , Xu Ying , Zhou Ning-Yi
Published: September 2021

Single-component PNP monoxygenases hydroxylate PNP at the 4 position, while two-component ones do so at the 2 position. However, their catalytic and structural differences remain elusive.
Bidirectional Cell-Cell Communication via Indole and Cyclo(Pro-Tyr) Modulates Interspecies Biofilm Formation
Authors: Hashidoko Yasuyuki , Kim Dongyeop
Published: September 2021

Indole is a relatively stable
N
-heterocyclic aromatic compound that is widely found in nature. To date, the correlations between indole-related bidirectional cell-to-cell communications and interspecies communal organization remain poorly understood.
Microbial Abundance and Diversity in Subsurface Lower Oceanic Crust at Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge
Authors: Wee Shu Ying , Edgcomb Virginia P. , Beaudoin David , Yvon-Lewis Shari , Sylvan Jason B.
Published: September 2021

The lower oceanic crust below the seafloor is one of the most poorly explored habitats on Earth. The rocks from the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) are similar to rock environments on other ocean-bearing planets and moons.
Stable-Isotope-Informed, Genome-Resolved Metagenomics Uncovers Potential Cross-Kingdom Interactions in Rhizosphere Soil
Authors: Starr Evan P. , Shi Shengjing , Blazewicz Steven J. , Koch Benjamin J. , Probst Alexander J. , Hungate Bruce A. , Pett-Ridge Jennifer , Firestone Mary K. , Banfield Jillian F.
Published: September 2021

Plants grow in intimate association with soil microbial communities; these microbes can facilitate the availability of essential resources to plants. Thus, plant productivity commonly depends on interactions with rhizosphere bacteria, viruses, and eukaryotes.
Novel Small Molecule Growth Inhibitor Affecting Bacterial Outer Membrane Reduces Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) Infection in Avian Model
Authors: Kathayat Dipak , Helmy Yosra A. , Deblais Loic , Srivastava Vishal , Closs Gary , Khupse Rahul , Rajashekara Gireesh
Published: September 2021

APEC is a subgroup of ExPEC, and genetic similarities of APEC with human ExPECs, including uropathogenic
E. coli
(UPEC) and neonatal meningitis
E. coli
(NMEC), have been reported. Our study identified a novel small molecule growth inhibitor, GI-7, as reducing APEC infection in chickens with an efficacy similar to that of the currently used antibiotic sulfadimethoxine, notably with an 8-times-lower dose.
Targeted Hybridization Capture of SARS-CoV-2 and Metagenomics Enables Genetic Variant Discovery and Nasal Microbiome Insights
Authors: Nagy-Szakal Dorottya , Couto-Rodriguez Mara , Wells Heather L. , Barrows Joseph E. , Debieu Marilyne , Butcher Kristin , Chen Siyuan , Berki Agnes , Hager Courteny , Boorstein Robert J. , Taylor Mariah K. , Jonsson Colleen B. , Mason Christopher E. , O’Hara Niamh B.
Published: September 2021

This is the first FDA emergency-use-authorized hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay to detect the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Viral metagenomics and the novel hybrid capture NGS-based assay, along with its research-use-only analysis, can provide important genetic insights into SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens and improve surveillance and early detection, potentially preventing or mitigating new outbreaks.
Supplemental Material: Miocene stratigraphy and structure of the East Bay Hills, California
Authors: Wagner J. Ross , al. et
Published: September 2021

Supplemental Materials: 1: Correlation of the Monterey and San Pablo Groups in the East Bay; 2: Ages and correlations of the Contra Costa and San Pablo; 3: The Indian Valley member of the Moraga Formation; 4: Map distribution of the Upper San Pablo Group and Lower Orinda member and inferred displacement across the Divide Ridge fault zone; 5: Analytical data for radiometric dates; and 6: Plate 1: Geologic map of Miocene rocks of the East Bay.
Exploiting Social Networks as a Live Mass Media Channel During Disasters for Reactions
Authors: Nguyen Minh-Tien , Nguyen Tri-Thanh , Kitamoto Asanobu , Nguyen Van-Hau
Published: September 2021

Social networks, e.g. Twitter, have been proved to be almost real-time systems for spreading information, that provide a valuable information channel in emergencies, e.g. disasters. This paper presents a framework designed to distill actionable tweets. The framework tackles the diversity, large volume, and noise of tweets for providing users live information for quick responses. To do that, our framework first retrieves a large number of tweets to ensure the diversity. It next removes irrelevant and indirect tweets for reducing the volume, divides informative tweets into predefined classes for quick navigation, and groups tweets in a class into topics to preserve the diversity. Finally, it ranks tweets in each topic to extract important tweets for the user’s quick scan. For ranking, the framework utilizes event extraction to enrich the semantics and reduce the noise of tweets. After that, the framework builds event graphs for ranking to find out important tweets. To validate the efficiency of our framework, we took Twitter as a case study. Experimental results on five disaster datasets show that our framework achieves promising results compared to strong methods in disaster scenarios.
Multi-Stage Conversational Passage Retrieval: An Approach to Fusing Term Importance Estimation and Neural Query Rewriting
Authors: Lin Sheng-Chieh , Yang Jheng-Hong , Nogueira Rodrigo , Tsai Ming-Feng , Wang Chuan-Ju , Lin Jimmy
Published: September 2021

Conversational search plays a vital role in conversational information seeking. As queries in information seeking dialogues are ambiguous for traditional ad hoc information retrieval (IR) systems due to the coreference and omission resolution problems inherent in natural language dialogue, resolving these ambiguities is crucial. In this article, we tackle conversational passage retrieval, an important component of conversational search, by addressing query ambiguities with query reformulation integrated into a multi-stage ad hoc IR system. Specifically, we propose two conversational query reformulation (CQR) methods: (1) term importance estimation and (2) neural query rewriting. For the former, we expand conversational queries using important terms extracted from the conversational context with frequency-based signals. For the latter, we reformulate conversational queries into natural, stand-alone, human-understandable queries with a pretrained sequence-to-sequence model. Detailed analyses of the two CQR methods are provided quantitatively and qualitatively, explaining their advantages, disadvantages, and distinct behaviors. Moreover, to leverage the strengths of both CQR methods, we propose combining their output with reciprocal rank fusion, yielding state-of-the-art retrieval effectiveness, 30% improvement in terms of NDCG@3 compared to the best submission of
Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) Conversational Assistant Track (CAsT)
2019.
MitoCellPhe reveals mitochondrial morphologies in single fibroblasts and clustered stem cells
Authors: Bakare Ajibola B. , Meshrkey Fibi , Lowe Benjamin , Molder Carson , Rao Raj R. , Zhan Justin , Iyer Shilpa
Published: September 2021

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that differ significantly in their morphologies across cell types, reflecting specific cellular needs and stages in development. Despite the wide biological significance in disease and in health, delineating mitochondrial morphologies in complex systems remains challenging. Here, we present the Mitochondrial Cellular Phenotype (MitoCellPhe) tool developed for quantifying mitochondrial morphologies and demonstrate its utility in delineating differences in mitochondrial morphologies in a human fibroblast and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) line. MitoCellPhe generates 24 parameters, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial structures and importantly allows for quantification to be performed on mitochondria in images containing single cells or clusters of cells. With this tool, we were able to validate previous findings that show networks of mitochondria in healthy fibroblast cell lines and a more fragmented morphology in hiPSCs. Using images generated from control and diseased fibroblasts and hiPSCs, we also demonstrate the efficacy of the toolset in delineating differences in morphologies between healthy and the diseased state in both stem cell (hiPSC) and differentiated fibroblast cells. Our results demonstrate that MitoCellPhe enables high-throughput, sensitive, detailed, and quantitative mitochondrial morphological assessment and thus enables better biological insights into mitochondrial dynamics in health and disease.
Longitudinal auditory pathophysiology following mild blast-induced trauma
Authors: Han Emily X. , Fernandez Joseph M. , Swanberg Caitlin , Shi Riyi , Bartlett Edward L.
Published: September 2021

Few studies on blast-induced hearing deficits go beyond simple sounds and sparsely track postexposure. Therefore, the recovery arc for potential therapies and real-world listening is poorly understood. Evidence suggested multiple recovery phases over 2 mo postexposure. Hearing thresholds largely recovered within 14 days and partially explained recovery. However, midlatency responses, responses to amplitude modulation in noise, and speech-like pitch sweeps exhibited extended changes, implying persistent central auditory deficits and the importance of subclinical threshold shifts.
MicroRNA‐137 Inhibited Hypoxia‐Induced Proliferation of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells by Targeting Calpain‐2
Authors: Ge Xiao-Yue , Zhu Tian-Tian , Yao Mao-Zhong , Liu Hong , Wu Qian , Qiao Jie , Zhang Wei-Fang , Hu Chang-Ping
Published: September 2021

The proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) is an important cause of pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension (PH). It has been reported that miR‐137 inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells. However, whether miR‐137 is involved in PH remains unclear. In this study, male Sprague‐Dawley rats were subjected to 10% O2 for 3 weeks to establish PH, and rat primary PASMCs were treated with hypoxia (3% O2) for 48 h to induce cell proliferation. The effect of miR‐137 on PASMC proliferation and calpain‐2 expression was assessed by transfecting miR‐137 mimic and inhibitor. The effect of calpain‐2 on PASMC proliferation was assessed by transfecting calpain‐2 siRNA. The present study found for the first time that miR‐137 was downregulated in pulmonary arteries of hypoxic PH rats and in hypoxia‐treated PASMCs. miR‐137 mimic inhibited hypoxia‐induced PASMC proliferation and upregulation of calpain‐2 expression in PASMCs. Furthermore, miR‐137 inhibitor induced the proliferation of PASMCs under normoxia, and knockdown of calpain‐2 mRNA by siRNA significantly inhibited hypoxia‐induced proliferation of PASMCs. Our study demonstrated that hypoxia‐induced downregulation of miR‐137 expression promoted the proliferation of PASMCs by targeting calpain‐2, thereby potentially resulting in pulmonary vascular remodeling in hypoxic PH.
Investigating the Application of Liposomes as Drug Delivery Systems for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer
Authors: Allahou Latifa W. , Madani Seyed Yazdan , Seifalian Alexander
Published: September 2021

Chemotherapy is the routine treatment for cancer despite the poor efficacy and associated off-target toxicity. Furthermore, therapeutic doses of chemotherapeutic agents are limited due to their lack of tissue specificity. Various developments in nanotechnology have been applied to medicine with the aim of enhancing the drug delivery of chemotherapeutic agents. One of the successful developments includes nanoparticles which are particles that range between 1 and 100 nm that may be utilized as drug delivery systems for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer as they overcome the issues associated with chemotherapy; they are highly efficacious and cause fewer side effects on healthy tissues. Other nanotechnological developments include organic nanocarriers such as liposomes which are a type of nanoparticle, although they can deviate from the standard size range of nanoparticles as they may be several hundred nanometres in size. Liposomes are small artificial spherical vesicles ranging between 30 nm and several micrometres and contain one or more concentric lipid bilayers encapsulating an aqueous core that can entrap both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. Liposomes are biocompatible and low in toxicity and can be utilized to encapsulate and facilitate the intracellular delivery of chemotherapeutic agents as they are biodegradable and have reduced systemic toxicity compared with free drugs. Liposomes may be modified with PEG chains to prolong blood circulation and enable passive targeting. Grafting of targeting ligands on liposomes enables active targeting of anticancer drugs to tumour sites. In this review, we shall explore the properties of liposomes as drug delivery systems for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. Moreover, we shall discuss the various synthesis and functionalization techniques associated with liposomes including their drug delivery, current clinical applications, and toxicology.
Mechanical Properties and Damage Behavior of Rock-Coal-Rock Combined Samples under Coupled Static and Dynamic Loads
Authors: Bai Jinzheng , Dou Linming , Małkowski Piotr , Li Jiazhuo , Zhou Kunyou , Chai Yanjiang
Published: September 2021

This research is aimed at investigating the influence of the coal height ratio on the mechanical properties and damage behavior of rock-coal-rock combined samples (RCRCS) under coupled static and dynamic loads. For this purpose, a uniaxial cyclic dynamic loading experiment with four different coal height ratios of RCRCS was conducted. Mechanical properties, failure modes, and wave velocity evolution of RCRCS were analyzed; the process of rock burst under coupled static and dynamic loads in rock-coal-rock combined structure was discussed. The following research results are obtained. (1) The peak strength of RCRCS under static and dynamic load decreases with the increasing coal height ratio as an inverse proportional function. (2) The loading and unloading modulus remains consistent for the same levels of dynamic load; the coal height ratio of 40% may be the limit for the stable value of modulus. (3) The increase of the coal height in RCRCS leads to a gradual increase of the energy release rate; the cracks develop preferentially in coal and then extend to rock sample. The distribution of AE events and damage is consistent with the distribution of passive wave velocity. The research results provide important scientific bases for the guidance of early warning of rock burst.
Stress Relief and Support for Stability of Deep Mining Roadway with Thick Top Coal in Hujiahe Coal Mine with the Risk of Rock Burst
Authors: Liu Wenjing , Qian Deyu , Yang Xingguo , Wang Sujian , Deng Jinping , Cui Qi , Li Zexiang
Published: September 2021

Rock burst is a typical dynamic disaster in deep underground coal mining. Based on the support problems of the deep roadways in fully mechanized caving face 401111 of Hujiahe Coal Mine suffering from rock burst in Shaanxi Province of China, the failure law and influencing factors of the surrounding rock of the roadway are analyzed. The results show that the deformation of surrounding rock in the roadway shows the characteristics of elastic, plastic transformation, rheology, and expansion. At the same time, it has the typical characteristics of deep roadway, such as the fast deformation speed, long duration, asymmetric deformation, and large loose broken area of surrounding rock. Based on the principle of “strengthening support in shallow zones” and “deep pressure relief in deep zones” in the surrounding rock, the control scheme of surrounding rock in the return roadway of fully mechanized caving working face 401111 is proposed by taking the large diameter pressure relief and deep hole blasting as the main means of pressure relief. The practice shows that the surrounding rock of the return roadway is relatively stable after the implementation of the new scheme, which shows that the design of the new support scheme is reasonable and reliable. It is of great significance for the stability control of surrounding rock of the mining roadway suffering from rock burst.
Phytochemical Screening and Potential Antibacterial Activity of Defatted and Nondefatted Methanolic Extracts of Xao Tam Phan (Paramignya trimera (Oliv.) Guillaum) Peels against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria
Authors: Le Thi Van-Anh , Nguyen Ngoc-Lien , Nguyen Quang-Huy , Van Dong Quyen , Do Thi-Yen , Nguyen T. Kieu-Oanh
Published: September 2021

Xao tam phan (Paramignya trimera (Oliv.) Guillaum) is a traditional herbal medicine in Vietnam. Previous investigations reported mainly compounds and bioactivities of roots, stems, and leaves while there is limited information about those of fruits. This study aims to reveal the difference in the chemical profile of defatted peel (DP) and nondefatted peel (NDP) methanolic extracts of P. trimera using colorimetric reactions and liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis. We also showed the potential antibacterial activity of two extracts against clinically isolated bacteria strains including P. aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., and S. aureus with the MIC values < 100 μg/mL. This preliminary result proves the traditional usage of this herbal medicine and can be helpful for further investigation on the isolation and identification of the new compounds in P. trimera peels.
A Decision-Making Method Providing Sustainability to FPGA-Based SoCs by Run-Time Structural Adaptation to Mode of Operation, Power Budget, and Die Temperature Variations
Authors: Sharma Dimple , Kirischian Lev
Published: September 2021

One of the growing areas of application of embedded systems in robotics, aerospace, military, etc. is autonomous mobile systems. Usually, such embedded systems have multitask multimodal workloads. These systems must sustain the required performance of their dynamic workloads in presence of varying power budget due to rechargeable power sources, varying die temperature due to varying workloads and/or external temperature, and varying hardware resources due to occurrence of hardware faults. This paper proposes a run-time decision-making method, called Decision Space Explorer, for FPGA-based Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) to support changing workload requirements while simultaneously mitigating unpredictable variations in power budget, die temperature, and hardware resource constraints. It is based on the concept of Run-Time Structural Adaptation (RTSA); whenever there is a change in a system’s set of constraints, Explorer selects a suitable hardware processing circuit for each active task at an appropriate operating frequency such that all the constraints are satisfied. Explorer has been experimentally deployed on the ARM Cortex-A9 core of Xilinx Zynq XC7Z020 SoC. Its worst-case decision-making time for different scenarios ranges from tens to hundreds of microseconds. Explorer is thus suitable for enabling RTSA in systems where specifications of multiple objectives must be maintained simultaneously, making them self-sustainable.
Clustering Analysis of Risk Divergence of China Government’s Debts
Authors: Ouyang Tianhao , Lu Xiaoyong
Published: September 2021

It is a difficult time for the world’s economics while the impact of COVID-19 is undergoing. A possible worldwide sovereign debt crisis could emerge, in short term, for supply chains blockage due to its slowing-down in many countries. China, having the second largest economy in the world, is crucial for the stability and sustainability of the economic recovery. China endures a long-term growth since 2000; nevertheless, a large amount of that growth is contributed by the government debt, which was spent on infrastructures. The accumulation of debts is a potential risk to the future growth of China. This research evaluates the central government and local government debts with a series of indicators. The weights of indicators are determined by objective methods of the CRITIC approach. Results confirm that the central government debt of China is on the edge of risk, while the risk of local governments debt is already in a concerning danger. The local government risk is 50% higher than the central government’s risk. Moreover, the K-means clustering algorithm performed on data, collected from various provinces, suggests that the local government debts of China follow a pattern of geographical distribution; that is, the closer to the coast, the lesser the risk, which is in accordance with the pattern of labor flowing. Labors are attracted by job opportunities which lie in the well-developed regions of China. This is confirmed by the crosscheck with the wage growth data. This indicates that the less developed areas of China rely more heavily on debt-investment stimulation that could be of a potential stagnation because the yield of investment follows diminishing marginal returns and the relative lacking labor weakens the potential economic growth.