bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Migratory routes, breeding locations and multiple non-breeding sites of Common Whitethroats Curruca communis revealed by geolocators
Authors: Tapia-Harris Claudia , Izang Arin , Cresswell Will
Published: September 2022

Understanding general migration characteristics and how breeding and non-breeding sites are connected is crucial for predicting the response of long-distance migratory bird populations to environmental changes. We use data collected from six geolocators to describe migratory routes and identify breeding and non-breeding locations, migratory behaviour and differences between spring and autumn migration of Common WhitethroatsCurruca communis, an Afro-Palearctic migrant, wintering in Nigeria. Most individuals departed on spring migration in April, following a north-easterly direction, arriving at their breeding grounds across central-eastern Europe (~425,000 km2) in May. Departures from breeding grounds took place between July and August in a south-westerly direction. During spring migration individuals travelled longer distances at faster rates making its overall duration shorter than autumn migration. We suggest that, while Whitethroats can cross the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea in a single flight, they are likely to refuel before and after crossing. Results indicate that Whitethroats undertook loop migration and visited two wintering sites: first in the Sahel, then in Nigeria, where they remained until spring migration. Geolocator results and data from the European Union for Bird Migration’s (EURING) ringing database suggest that Whitethroats have a relatively high migratory spread—individuals from a single non-breeding site breed across a wide area of Europe. Our research is the first to track and describe the complete annual cycle of Whitethroats and one of the few studies to do so for any Afro-Palearctic migrant from non-breeding grounds. We identified the Sahel as an important refuelling and first wintering site indicating its conservation, alongside other stopover sites, is crucial for the species. We believe that changes in this region will have severe effects on a subset of individuals of specific European breeding populations, but these effects will greatly depend on the severity of the changes and at what spatial scale they occur.
Food security and well-being among older, rural Americans before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Giroux Stacey , Waldman Kurt , Burris Mecca , Valliant Julia C. D. , Babb Angela M. , Stafford Philip , Fobi Daniel , Czebotar Kamila , Knudsen Daniel C.
Published: September 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of our lives. Older adults, those with less income or fewer resources, and those living in rural parts of the United States are potentially more vulnerable. To understand the negative impact of COVID-19 on perceived food security, physical and mental health, and loneliness in a sample of older, rural, low-income adults in the United States, we use results from a mailed survey in which residents of four Indiana counties contrasted their status during the early period of the pandemic to their typical pre-pandemic status. We test for significant changes in status and what predicts negative impacts to food security, health, and loneliness. We asked respondents to report on both pre-pandemic and since-pandemic experiences in the instrument, which was administered after the pandemic had begun, in May 2020. We measure food security using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module (six-item short form; HFSSM), physical and mental health using the Centers for Disease Control’s Healthy Days Measures (HRQOL-4), and loneliness using the UCLA Revised Loneliness Scale. A binomial test identified significant declines in status for all three measures. Logistic regressions identified factors associated with each of the measures worsening. Fear of going to the store or food pantry was associated with all three measures. Decreased store hours and closed food pantries were associated with lower food security. More education, fewer years of age, being female, decreased income, and stockpiling were associated with more reported days of poor physical or mental health. Fewer years of age, lack of transportation, and eating less often with others were associated with perceived increased loneliness. The pandemic had a negative impact on respondents’ food security, unhealthy days, and loneliness, but different factors were associated with each measure for this population. Our findings provide insight for targeted recovery efforts.
Glucocorticoid induces GSDMD-dependent pyrolysis in PC12 cells via endoplasmic reticulum stress
Authors: Yang Bin , Zhang Tengteng , Wei Lai , Zhao Bin , Wang Qingzhi , Yao Zhijun , Yi Shanyong
Published: September 2022

Objective

The present study explored whether pyroptosis is involved in the injury process of PC12 cells induced by glucocorticoid (GC) and the regulatory relationship between endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and pyrolysis.

Methods

LDH leakage of PC12 cells was detected by LDH assay. The number of dead cells was detected by SYTOX green nucleic acid staining. The levels of IL-1β and IL-18 in the supernatants was detected by ELSIA assay. The expression levels of glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), cleaved gasdermin D-NT (cleaved-GSDMD-NT), NLR-pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) and cleaved-caspase-1 were observed by immunofluorescence staining and western blot.

Results

The LDH assay revealed that GC exposure significantly increased the release of LDH. The results of SYTOX green acid staining showed that GC exposure significantly increased the number of SYTOX green acid-positive cells. The ELSIA assay revealed that GC exposure significantly increased the levels of IL-1β and IL-18 in the supernatants. The results of immunofluorescence staining and western blot showed that GC exposure significantly increased the expression of GRP78, cleaved-GSDMD-NT, NLRP3 and cleaved caspase-1. Treatment with the ERS inhibitor tauroursodeoxycholate (TUDCA) and siRNA GSDMD attenuated related damage and downregulated the expression of the abovementioned proteins.

Conclusion

The present study clearly demonstrated that GC exposure can induce GSDMD-dependent pyrolysis, and ERS is involved in the above damage process.
Comparative chloroplast genomes and phylogenetic relationships of Aglaonema modestum and five variegated cultivars of Aglaonema
Authors: Li Dong-Mei , Zhu Gen-Fa , Yu Bo , Huang Dan
Published: September 2022

Aglaonema, commonly called Chinese evergreens, are widely used for ornamental purposes. However, attempts to identify Aglaonema species and cultivars based on leaf morphology have been challenging. In the present study, chloroplast sequences were used to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships of cultivated Aglaonema in South China. The chloroplast genomes of one green species and five variegated cultivars of Aglaonema, Aglaonema modestum, ‘Red Valentine’, ‘Lady Valentine’, ‘Hong Yan’, ‘Hong Jian’, and ‘Red Vein’, were sequenced for comparative and phylogenetic analyses. The six chloroplast genomes of Aglaonema had typical quadripartite structures, comprising a large single copy (LSC) region (91,092–91,769 bp), a small single copy (SSC) region (20,816–26,501 bp), and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (21,703–26,732 bp). The genomes contained 112 different genes, including 79–80 protein coding genes, 28–29 tRNAs and 4 rRNAs. The molecular structure, gene order, content, codon usage, long repeats, and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were generally conserved among the six sequenced genomes, but the IR-SSC boundary regions were significantly different, and ‘Red Vein’ had a distinct long repeat number and type frequency. For comparative and phylogenetic analyses, Aglaonema costatum was included; it was obtained from the GenBank database. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (indels) were determined among the seven Aglaonema genomes studied. Nine divergent hotspots were identified: trnH-GUG-CDS1_psbA, trnS-GCU_trnS-CGA-CDS1, rps4-trnT-UGU, trnF-GAA-ndhJ, petD-CDS2-rpoA, ycf1-ndhF, rps15-ycf1-D2, ccsA-ndhD, and trnY-GUA-trnE-UUC. Additionally, positive selection was found for rpl2, rps2, rps3, ycf1 and ycf2 based on the analyses of Ka/Ks ratios among 16 Araceae chloroplast genomes. The phylogenetic tree based on whole chloroplast genomes strongly supported monophyletic Aglaonema and clear relationships among Aroideae, Lasioideae, Lemnoideae, Monsteroideae, Orontioideae, Pothoideae and Zamioculcadoideae in the family Araceae. By contrast, protein coding gene phylogenies were poorly to strongly supported and incongruent with the whole chloroplast genome phylogenetic tree. This study provided valuable genome resources and helped identify Aglaonema species and cultivars.
Dependence on a variable residue limits the breadth of an HIV MPER neutralizing antibody, despite convergent evolution with broadly neutralizing antibodies
Authors: Scheepers Cathrine , Kgagudi Prudence , Mzindle Nonkululeko , Gray Elin S. , Moyo-Gwete Thandeka , Lambson Bronwen E. , Oosthuysen Brent , Mabvakure Batsirai , Garrett Nigel J. , Abdool Karim Salim S. , Morris Lynn , Moore Penny L.
Published: September 2022

Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that target the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of HIV gp41 envelope, such as 4E10, VRC42.01 and PGZL1, can neutralize >80% of viruses. These three MPER-directed monoclonal antibodies share germline antibody genes (IGHV1-69 and IGKV3-20) and form a bNAb epitope class. Furthermore, convergent evolution within these two lineages towards a 111.2GW111.3 motif in the CDRH3 is known to enhance neutralization potency. We have previously isolated an MPER neutralizing antibody, CAP206-CH12, that uses these same germline heavy and light chain genes but lacks breadth (neutralizing only 6% of heterologous viruses). Longitudinal sequencing of the CAP206-CH12 lineage over three years revealed similar convergent evolution towards 111.2GW111.3 among some lineage members. Mutagenesis of CAP206-CH12 from 111.2GL111.3 to 111.2GW111.3 and the introduction of the double GWGW motif into CAP206-CH12 modestly improved neutralization potency (2.5–3-fold) but did not reach the levels of potency of VRC42.01, 4E10 or PGZL1. To explore the lack of potency/breadth, viral mutagenesis was performed to map the CAP206-CH12 epitope. This indicated that CAP206-CH12 is dependent on D674, a highly variable residue at the solvent-exposed elbow of MPER. In contrast, VRC42.01, PGZL1 and 4E10 were dependent on highly conserved residues (W672, F673, T676, and W680) facing the hydrophobic patch of the MPER. Therefore, while CAP206-CH12, VRC42.01, PGZL1 and 4E10 share germline genes and show some evidence of convergent evolution, their dependence on different amino acids, which impacts orientation of binding to the MPER, result in differences in breadth and potency. These data have implications for the design of HIV vaccines directed at the MPER epitope.
Estrategias de ciberseguridad en los paises latinoamericanos – un análisis comparativo
Authors: Urbanovics Anna , Guajardo Rodrigo
Published: September 2022

Siguiendo a los países desarrollados, los países latinoamericanos comienzan a prestar cada vez más atención al desarrollo de sus capacidades de ciberseguridad. Alineados con estos, cada vez más países de la región crean su propia estrategia nacional de ciberseguridad, estableciendo los principales objetivos e intereses y definiendo los principales desafíos y amenazas. El estudio tiene como objetivo analizar y comparar estas estrategias publicadas por los principales estados de la región. El artículo tiene un diseño de investigación basado en métodos mixtos. La metodología utilizada consiste en su mayor parte en el análisis de datos secundarios basados en bases de datos internacionales, así como el análisis sistemático de las estrategias mediante técnicas de análisis documental. Los resultados esperados, por lo tanto, tienden a resumir las principales estructuras de estas estrategias -incluyendo los principales intereses y desafíos que se definen con respecto a los estados estudiados- identificar patrones comunes de las estrategias considerando el contexto político e internacional de la región y hacer sugerencias para desarrollos futuros mediante la comparación de la situación actual y las principales estructuras de estos países.
Clustering of the European Union member states based on money laundering measuring indices
Authors: Gaspareniene Ligita , Gagyte Greta , Remeikiene Rita , Matuliene Snieguole
Published: September 2022

The number of enforcement actions and fines for non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations continues climbing year after year, and the year 2021 was no exception to this tendency. Globally, authorities remain harsh, and AML fines in Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom have been increasing (Global Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2021). According to the UN estimations, the amount of money annually laundered worldwide amounts to 2–5% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or in absolute numbers - to 800 billion-2 trillion US dollars. Such high figures indicate that national governments are indeed facing a serious problem of money laundering. In this article, clustering is employed to group the EU member states by their money laundering measuring indices in order to assess the EU legal framework in terms of money laundering prevention. State clustering could help the relevant EU institutions, such as Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), Europol, International Monetary Fund (IMF), national governments and others, to develop the most effective measures to diminish the problem of money laundering and to complement their regulatory framework. Money laundering is usually associated with criminal activities that generate large amounts of illegal financial resources. In the most general sense, money laundering refers to the process of disguising the true origin, ownership, disposal and movement of particular proceeds, property or property rights. The results of the empirical research propose that money laundering reduction calls for a higher number of suspicious transaction reports (STRs), lower levels of corruption and improvement of the legal framework in terms of money laundering prevention in the EU. The research methods cover comparative and systematic literature analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis. The cluster analysis of the EU member states (28 countries) uses the number of reports filled with FIU between 2006-2014, the 2012-2020 Basel AML Index and the 1998-2018 CPI data.
Indebtedness and the pace of catching up in the CEE countries
Authors: Redo Magdalena , Siemiątkowski Piotr
Published: September 2022

The paper verifies the existence of the relationship between the economic growth – i.e., the main determinant of the catching up process – and the level of government, household and external debt (foreign liabilities). The comparative analysis of the correlation for CEE11 countries and EU14 countries confirms that the level of indebtedness is a strong determinant of economic growth, and thus of the catching up process. The authors confirmed the "unfair" relationship that high debts more severely constrain development in less credible developing countries, and that tolerance for public debt in developing countries has decreased in recent years. The results also show that in developing CEE countries – unlike in the case of developed countries – higher levels of foreign liabilities and their stronger growth turn out to be a hindrance to economic growth. Finally, it should be emphasized that the fact that the stronger increase in household liabilities was accompanied by higher average economic growth in the CEE countries in the analyzed period (as opposed to EU14 countries) should be treated as an important warning. Probably the relatively high (although noticeably lower than in the EU14 countries) and/or growing household debt in the CEE countries will also at some point begin to slow down their economic growth and the pace of the catching up process.
Will the luxury culture of the financial industry spread to non-financial companies? Based on empirical evidence of corporate financialization
Authors: Gao Peng , Šuleř Petr , Tang Huiling
Published: September 2022

China is the second-largest economy in the world. Recently it has shown a significant trend of financialization. The financial industry is becoming increasingly influential across the whole country. However, there is much negative information about its prevalent luxurious lifestyle. According to the finding presented in this paper, corporate financialization may cause the luxury culture of the financial industry to spread to non-financial companies, and the excessive perquisites reflect the luxury consumption of non-financial companies’ managers. This paper aims to determine the relationship between corporate financialization and excessive perquisites, as well as explore the mutual relationship between the two, in particular the role of luxury culture. Based on a sample of A-share companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2007 to 2021, this paper uses the difference between the total perquisites and the expected normal perquisites determined by economic factors to identify excessive perquisites. The Penman-Nissim framework is employed to measure corporate financialization and OLS regression analysis is performed. The empirical results show that the phenomenon of corporate financialization has a significant positive impact on excessive perquisites. Further research shows that such an impact is only evident during the period associated with established luxury culture excessive perquisites. This relationship can also be influenced by the skills and professional experience of managers, the level of corporate cash holdings, and investment income. This paper confirms the effect of luxury culture on firms’ financial behaviour and identifies new factors influencing excessive perquisites.
Impact of export and import on value addition of ready-made garments sector in Bangladesh
Authors: Asad Arif Ibne , Pavelková Drahomíra , Pham Tien Phat , Quddus Abdul
Published: September 2022

Bangladesh has achieved the prestigious second place among the biggest textile exporters countries. The paper's main objective was to explore the relationship between value addition from ready-made garments with export and import from that sector. The study further focused on the influence of previous exports, imports, and value addition on the current value addition. The study was based on three time series variables, namely export, import, and value addition from ready-made garments of Bangladesh, using data from the Bangladesh Central Bank (Bangladesh Bank) for the years 1994 to 2020. The time series variables exhibited the unit root problem and were converted to stationary after the first difference, checked by Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) Test. The multiple linear regression model illustrated, on the one hand, a highly significant and positive relationship between value addition and export, on the other hand, a highly significant and negative relationship between value addition and import for the ready-made garments in Bangladesh. Moreover, the paper used the Vector Autoregression (VAR) model to explore the influences of lag values of those three variables on value addition. The results suggested that causation among the variables was significant in the short run, but insignificant in the long run. In conclusion, Bangladesh's ready-made garment industry plays an important role in the economy, and it is prudent to expand manufacturing with more value addition in the future.
Lean Approach of Pharmaceutical Installations At Hospital ABC Purbalingga to Increase Pharmacy Service Efficiency
Authors: Imran Rani Aulia
Published: September 2022

A good pharmacy quality services are intended to the pharmaceutical product which is well prepared, stored, distributed, dispensed and discarded. However, these days services are assessed through medication availability, waiting time and user satisfaction. Therefore, hospitals need to make continuous quality improvements to the process of service, facilities, utilities, and health workers. This research aims to propose improvements to hospital pharmacy services quality by using Lean approaches in reducing services waiting time of concoction medicine. A case study was at Hospital ABC at Central Java, conducted in February-April 2019. There is a crucial problem was the prescription drug waiting time of concoction medicine. This study begins with process flow analysis and waste identification by interviewing with stakeholders of the hospital. Non-value added and value-added activities been divided, then time measurement in each activity is carried out with a time study method, to get the actual time of compounding the drug. Current state flow was mapped using value stream mapping tools, and future state flow map was recommended. Using lean tools, value-added activities have been identified and process time in future state map optimized to 47%. By using 5-why’s root cause analysis, problems identified and improvement of visual management were recommended.
INTEGRASI KONSEP KONSERVASI LAUT MENJADI PERTAHANAN LAUT DALAM PENEGAKAN HUKUM LAUT PERSPEKTIF BIOSENTRISME
Authors: Kherid Muhammad Nizar , Aminah Aminah
Published: September 2022

Konservasi laut dalam kerangka hukum lingkungan tidak cukup dengan fokus kepada aspek lingkungan, perlu dimaknai lebih luas dengan memposisikan laut sebagai bagian dari pertahanan negara. Implementasi dari konservasi laut dalam UU Kelautan dan UU Lingkungan selama ini hanya berdiri sendiri, yakni memisahkan sektor pertahanan negara yang sesungguhnya memiliki landasan konstitusional yang kuat. Pendekatan penelitian menggunakan yurudis normatif dengan analisis kualitatif. Pembahasan fokus kepada paradigma biosentris sebagai sistem yang saling berkaitan antar sektor, baik melindungi ekosistem laut, penegakan hukum laut, pengembangan konektivitas maritim, rehabilitasi kerusakan lingkungan laut, serta peningkatan kualitas dan kuantitas SDM kelautan. Melalui paradigma biosentris, ada relasi antar sektor yang menyatu dan membentuk sebuah sistem menjadi sistem pertahanan laut. Hasil penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa Undang-Undang Kelautan dan Undang-Undang Lingkungan dapat disinkronkan dengan Undang-Undang Pertahanan Negara.
Legal Protection for Children Victims of Postpartum Depression
Authors: Harisnaeni Diyan Shofie , Cahyaningtyas Irma
Published: September 2022

Children are a gift given by God through a woman. The presence of a child certainly raises many new adaptations in family life. The transition period to face a new life turns out to be more or less a problem that results in children; one of which is postpartum depression in a mother. This article aims to examine the forms of legal protection for a child who is a victim of postpartum depression. This article uses a normative juridical approach and secondary data with descriptive analytical research specifications and qualitative analysis. Based on the results of the study, postpartum depression is included in the category of mental illness model caused by the mental illness with clinical depression symptoms that affect psychological conditions ranging from excessive anxiety, neglecting children, to physically injuring children. This form of legal protection for children is stated in Law Number 23 of 2002 in conjunction with Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection. Regarding the accountability of perpetrators, for the postpartum depression which reflects on Article 44 of the Criminal Code, it is necessary to have an examination first before determining the responsibility to be imposed to overcome and prevent postpartum depression.
Juridical Overview on the Inconsistency of Prohibition to be the Member of Political Parties for the Members of Public Institutions
Authors: Julian Fajar Prima , Herawati Ratna
Published: September 2022

The creation of a justice in the life of the nation and state must be supported by regulations that do not conflict with other regulations. The prohibition to join a political party for administrators of public institutions   is in conflict with higher regulations. The article is considered contrary to the principle of "Equality before the Law" when viewed from the aspect of equal concern put forward by Ronald Dworkin. The purpose of this research was to analyze the inconsistency of the prohibition article for members of public institutions   to join political parties and to explain the legal implications for the public institutions when they do not comply with these regulations. The method used was normative juridical with descriptive analytical research specifications, and the type of the data were secondary data. The data analysis was conducted qualitatively. Political rights are part of the human rights owned by a person who should not be limited by discriminatory treatments. In fact, there are still restrictions on these political rights which are detrimental to a person from contributing to become the administrator of a public institution. The contents of conflicting articles cause the public institutions to have a crisis of law compliance, is actually a hierarchical harmony between laws and regulations in Indonesia.
Securitization of the Merchant Vessels by the Private Contracted Armed Security Personnel: A Legal Perspective
Authors: Purnawarnantha Selo Pasha , Afriansyah Arie
Published: September 2022

Shipping trade commodities using commercial ships through the sea that are safe and free from security disturbances is a prerequisite for spinning a country's economy. However, not all seas in this world are safe. There are many areas of waters categorized as high-risk areas. UNCLOS regulates that a safe sea implies that the sea is free from threats or disruptions to the activities of peaceful sea use or utilization, among others, free from threats of violence in the form of piracy, sabotage, and armed terrorism at sea. Conditions gave rise to private security services on board called PCASP (Private Contracted Armed Security Personnel). This article aims to find out how to set up PCASP internationally and according to Indonesian law. This research uses secondary data materials, namely books, journal articles, and papers relevant to this research obtained from print and internet media. The use of PCASP supports the safety and security clause in UNCLOS 1982. IMO as an instrument of the United Nations in charge of maintaining and controlling international regulations on the safety and security of ships and ports. The maritime transportation authority in Indonesia does not require PCASP service nor approves commercial shipping companies to present PCASP on board.
The Controversies over State Secularism in the Constitution of the 4th Republic of Madagascar
Authors: Ramahefarivo Rota Ranavalonatina
Published: September 2022

The first article of the 4th Republic of Madagascar states that Madagascar is a secular State. However, there are many controversies related to this secularism. Those controversies are both textual and empirical. In reality Madagascar is not a pure secular State. This article consist of explaining the cause of the contradiction of secularism found in the content of the Constitution and the reality. The objective of this study is to describe the controversies about the application of the secularism principle during the 4th Republic and especially under the regime of the President Andry Rajoelina. If the Constituent think the concept of secularism as western countries think, especially France, Madagascar has its own way of application, because of the influence of traditional belief and Christianism. Then, the existence of a contextual secularism will be the solution for the controversies.
From Frozen to Latent Conflicts. Is a New EU Paradigm for Bosnia and Herzegovina Urgent?
Authors: Kučukalić Esma
Published: September 2022

Three decades have passed since the beginning of the war, which ravaged Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and the state finds itself once again in the quagmire of partitioning. In terms of high diplomacy, it is described as the worst crisis since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (1995), which still needs to be consolidated and fully legitimised. The international document that stopped the bloodshed and, at the same time, plunged the state into a tortuous citizenship abyss made of political contradictions, together with an institutional framework instrumentalised as a fertile ground for stabilitocracy and geostrategic influence games. The war in Ukraine has revived the international community’s interest in BiH, forcing it to take firmer stances. This article aims to analyse the recent events in BiH and the European Union (EU)’s strategy in light of its complex relationship based on coherence and inconsistency and the idea of security. The research questions whether the EU will take advantage of the lessons learned in the bloody nineties to resolve frozen conflicts. Answers are provided through an argumentative research design comprising a qualitative analysis of the institutional structure of BiH and the review of the interrelationships between the state and the triggers of local, regional and international instability with a special focus on the EU. The Ukraine scenario shows how quickly frozen conflicts start burning.
Zwanzig Jahre 9/11. Eine auch biographische Einführung
Authors: Epkenhans Tim , Reinkowski Maurus
Published: September 2022

This special section on “Twenty Years Since 9/11” is based on presentations given within the framework of a lecture series at the universities of Basel and Freiburg in fall 2021. Olmo Gölz (Freiburg) produced additionally a series of podcast interviews with the invited speakers. The two organizers of the lecture series and also editors of this special issue were motivated by the question how – with the hindsight of twenty years – we might interpret the long-term consequences of 9/11: Mere signifier for underlying processes or real rupture? Without doubt 9/11 had direct effects on the fields of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies, example given: One of the two editors, Epkenhans, pursued in the 2000s a career in Central Asia because of 9/11. It is more debatable whether the twenty-year period of Western military presence in Afghanistan 2001–21 (that was not devoid of any legitimacy as the invasion of Iraq in 2003) will be more than an episode and whether the debacle of the hastened withdrawal in August 2021 will have long-term effects on the international politics of humanitarian intervention. What can be taken for granted is that with Russia’s war on Ukraine since February 2022 the issue of Afghanistan has taken back seat in international politics.
PAISE® – process model for AI systems engineering
Authors: Hasterok Constanze , Stompe Janina
Published: September 2022

The application of artificial-intelligence-(AI)-based methods within the context of complex systems poses new challenges within the product life cycle. The process model for AI systems engineering, PAISE®, addresses these challenges by combining approaches from the disciplines of systems engineering, software development and data science. The general approach builds on a component-wise development of the overall system including an AI component. This allows domain specific development processes to be parallelized. At the same time, component dependencies are tested within interdisciplinary checkpoints, thus resulting in a refinement of component specifications.
KI-Engineering – AI Systems Engineering
Authors: Pfrommer Julius , Usländer Thomas , Beyerer Jürgen
Published: September 2022

KI-Engineering – translated as AI Systems Engineering – aims at the development of a new engineering practice in the intersection of Systems Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. Its goal is to professionalize the use of AI methods in a systems engineering context. The article defines KI-Engineering and compares it with historical examples of research disciplines that founded engineering disciplines. It furthermore discusses the long-term challenges where further development is needed and which results were already achieved in the context of the Competence Center for KI-Engineering (CC-KING).
Segmentation of Living and ablated Tumor parts in CT images Using ResLU-Net
Authors: Mahmoodian Naghmeh , Thadesar Harshita , Sadeghi Maryam , Georgiades Marilena , Pech Maciej , Hoeschen Christoph
Published: September 2022

Computed tomography (CT) is widely used as the imaging modality for the treatment of tumors in Microwave Ablation (MWA) therapy. In order to accurately perform ablation of liver tumors and prevent tumor recurrence it is necessary to segment both the living tumor and the ablated tissue on the CT images. The U-Net model has outperformed other methods in biomedical image segmentation. However, because of the low contrast between tumor and liver tissue texture, the traditional U-net network cannot perform an accurate segmentation of the CT images of liver during MWA therapy. The aim of this study is to improve the U-net model network to achieve a higher segmentation performance on the CT images of liver tumor inMWA therapy. To achieve this, residual block is added in the first steps of up-sampling to deepen the network depth and enhance the segmentation result. We compare the proposed method named as ‘ResLU-Net’ with a conventional U-Net model. The results show that the ResLU-Net method has a good performance in tumor segmentation with a structure similarity index (SSIM) value of 0.97. This new method can help physicians in the MWA therapy process.
Detection and Segmentation of Heterogeneous Bone Tumours in Limited Radiographs
Authors: Bloier Magdalena , Hinterwimmer Florian , Breden Sebastian , Consalvo Sarah , Neumann Jan , Wilhelm Nikolas , Eisenhart-Rothe Rüdiger von , Rueckert Daniel , Burgkart Rainer
Published: September 2022

Bone tumours are a rare and often highly malignant entity. Early clinical diagnosis is the most important step, but the difficulty of detecting and assessing bone malignancies is in its radiological peculiarity and limited experience of non-experts. Since X-ray imaging is the first imaging method of bone tumour diagnostics, the purpose of this study is to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model to detect and segment the tumorous tissue in a radiograph. We investigated which methods are necessary to cope with limited and heterogeneous data. We collected 531 anonymised radiographs from our musculoskeletal tumour centre. In order to adapt to the complexity of recognizing the malignant tissue and cope with limited data, transfer learning, data augmentation as well as several architectures, some of which were initially designed for medical images, were implemented. Furthermore, dataset size was varied by adding another bone tumour entity. We applied a data split of 72%, 18%, 10% for training, validation and testing, respectively. To provide statistical significance and robustness, we applied a cross-validation and image stratification with respect to tumour pixels present. We achieved an accuracy of 99.72% and an intersection over union of 87.43% for hold-out test data by applying several methods to tackle limited data. Transfer learning and additional data brought the greatest performance increase. In conclusion, our model was able to detect and segment tumorous tissue in radiographs with good performance, although it was trained on a very limited amount of data. Transfer Learning and data augmentation proved to significantly mitigate the issue of limited data samples. However, to accomplish clinical significance, more data has to be acquired in the future. Through minor adjustments, the model could be adapted to other musculoskeletal tumour entities and become a general support tool for orthopaedic surgeons and radiologists.
Simultaneous measurement of DC-EEG and transcutaneous pCO2
Authors: Eylem Kirlangic Mehmet , Yeo Yi Lin , Fiedler Patrique , Haueisen Jens
Published: September 2022

DC potential shifts are the shifts observed in the EEG baseline which can last from seconds to minutes. The significance of these low-frequency components in healthy as well as pathological states of human physiology is getting more and more attention not only in scientific research but also in clinical applications. In this paper, we present our novel multimodal measurement setup for simultaneously investigating DC potential shifts in EEG (DC-EEG) and the changes in noninvasive transcutaneous pCO2 measurements. We present preliminary results of our measurements during hyperventilation and apnea, which are two commonly used activation methods for changes in pCO2.
Visualization of platelet deposition in a flow chamber
Authors: Esslinger Isabell , Schulz Isabell , Bierewirtz Tim , Lommel Michael , Kertzscher Ulrich
Published: September 2022

The formation of thrombi is still a challenge when it comes to ventricular assist devices (VADs). This can be caused by the subsequent deposition of proteins and platelets on foreign surfaces. In VADs, the blood contacting components are mainly made of titanium alloys due to hemocompatible properties and corrosion resistance. However, surfaces where mechanical contact of the rotor and the stator occur like bearing areas of axial VADs require high wear resistance due to the greater potential of scratches. Therefore, an in vitro test bench to optically investigate the deposition of fluorescent labelled platelets on the protein layer of different surfaces is hereby presented, aiming to investigate the potential for thrombi formation of five different inorganic hard material coatings on titanium. The coating materials included Titanium Nitride (TiN), Titanium Niobium Nitride (TiNbN), Diamond-Like Carbon (Ionbond-Medthin-43 (DLCI) and Oerlikon Balimed A (DLCO)) and Wolfram Carbid Oerlikon Balimed C (WC). Uncoated titanium (Ti) was investigated as reference. Heparinized human whole blood was incubated with Mepacrine (fluorescent dye) and then pumped through a flow chamber with defined shear rate conditions over the samples. The adhered platelets were visualized via inverted fluorescence microscopy. The analyzation of the green values and the binary image of the generated fluorescent picture offers conclusions about the platelet accumulation and the percentage of the covered surface area, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant lower potential for platelet deposition for TiN compared to Ti and no significant differences for the rest. It can be concluded that none of these coatings have a higher potential for platelet deposition than Ti and therefore point towards suitability for blood contacting components.
The influence of PEGDA’s molecular weight on its mechanical properties in the context of biomedical applications
Authors: Rekowska Natalia , Arbeiter Daniela , Seitz Hermann , Mau Robert , Riess Alexander , Eickner Thomas , Grabow Niels , Teske Michael
Published: September 2022

Hydrogels are 3D polymeric networks, which exhibit properties such as softness, viscoelasticity and their ability to absorb large amounts of water. These characteristics make them exceptionally suitable in biomedicine as e.g. tissue scaffolds, drug delivery systems, wound dressings or contact lenses. One of these hydrogels is the biocompatible, hydrophilic and photopolymerizable poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). It is used in different biomedical applications due to its tunable mechanical characteristics. In our study, the mechanical properties of different PEGDA hydrogel compositions with variyng molecular masses and contents of water/methanol, were investigated. Different compositions containing 20 m%, 30 m% or 40 m% of PEGDA4K(4,000 g/mol), PEGDA10K(10,000 g/mol) or PEGDA20K(20,000 g/mol) in ultrapure water/methanol (1:2) were produced. Dumbbell-shaped samples were prepared in molds via photopolymerization in a UV chamber. Lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP) was used as photoinitiator (0.5% w/w). The mechanical testing was performed using a uniaxial testing system. The obtained results showed averagely 78% higher tensile strength (σmax) values for 30 m% and 40 m% samples in comparison with 20 m% samples for all of the tested polymers. PEGDA20K30 m% samples showed the highest σmax among all of the samples with 12.8 MPa. All of the PEGDA20K samples exhibited the highest elongation at break (εB) values (up to 958%), whereas the lowest values were found for PEGDA4K(up to 105%). The obtained stress-strain curves for most of the samples were typical for deformable, amorphous polymers with a deformation upon reaching a critical stress point. The PEGDA materials showed variable mechanical characteristics according to changing molecular mass or polymer concentration. These promising results showed that it should be possible to compose scaffolds with desired mechanical stability according to the needed application.
Hologram accuracy evaluation of HoloLens 2 for thermal imaging in medical applications
Authors: Unger Michael , Heinrich Saskia , Rick Matthias , Halama Dirk , Chalopin Claire
Published: September 2022

Surgical navigation-assisted interventions, providing augmented previously acquired image data to support the physician, are routinely used. Visualization techniques like extended reality (XR) promise improvements because the desired information can be shown where most suitable. The accuracy of such systems is essential for usability in clinical interventions but lacks research. This work shows a system to project thermal data for use in reconstructive surgery and investigates the accuracy of the XR technology. The system consists of a thermal camera (PI450, Optris GmbH, Germany), a depth camera system (D415, Intel Inc., USA), and a HoloLens2 (Microsoft Corp., USA). 5 probands annotated the locations of 9 marker points on a calibration pattern of the real object and the projection in the XR headset. The mean and max residual projection errors were 2.8 and 6.2 mm, respectively. An XR system to superimpose thermal images was shown. The mean projection error of 2.8 mm is sufficient for further exploration of medical applications.
Supervised Machine Learning for Predicting Carbohydrate Malabsorptions Using Hydrogen Breath Tests
Authors: Netzer Michael , Hanser Friedrich , Ledochowski Maximilian , Baumgarten Daniel
Published: September 2022

Introduction: Carbohydrate malabsorptions symptoms include intestinal fluid retention, causing diarrhea and abdominal distention. The aim of this work is to create a machine learning model that predicts carbohydrate malabsorption using H2 measurements from lactose and fructose tolerance tests. Methods: We compare the predictive ability of popular classifiers with classifiers that are specifically designed for time series data. Our approach was implemented using sklearn and sktime Python machine learning libraries. Results: The highest predictive ability for the fructose dataset was achieved using a Random Forest Classifier (balanced accuracy = 0.91). In contrast, the highest predictive ability (balanced accuracy = 0.81) for the lactose dataset was obtained using an IndividualTDE time classifier. Conclusion: Our results indicate a high predictive ability for distinguishing between carbohydrate malabsorptions. However, the detection of SIBO is challenging but adapted time classifier models could reach higher performances compared to standard methods. Our results could establish the basis of an expert system for diagnosing carbohydrate malabsorptions and SIBO, respectively.
MEMS Magnetic Field Source for Frequency Conversion Approaches for ME Sensors
Authors: Arbustini Johan , Muñoz Johanna , Wang Huxi , Elzenheimer Eric , Hoffmann Johannes , Thormählen Lars , Hayes Patrick , Niekiel Florian , Heidari Hadi , Höft Michael , Quandt Eckhard , Schmidt Gerhard , Bahr Andreas
Published: September 2022

Some magnetoelectric sensors require predefined external magnetic fields to satisfy optimal operation depending on their resonance frequency. While coils commonly generate this external magnetic field, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonator integrated with permanent magnets could be a possible replacement. In this proof-of-concept study, the interaction of a MEMS resonator and the ME sensor is investigated and compared with the standard approach to achieve the best possible sensor operation in terms of sensitivity. The achievable sensor sensitivity was evaluated experimentally by generating the magnetic excitation signal by a coil or a small-sized MEMS resonator. Moreover, the possibility of using both approaches simultaneously was also analysed. The MEMS resonator operated with 20Vppat 1.377 kHz has achieved a sensor sensitivity of 221.21mV/T. This sensitivity is comparable with the standard approach, where only a coil for sensor excitation is used. The enhanced sensitivity of 277.0mV/T could be identified by generating the excitation signal simultaneously by a coil and the MEMS resonator in parallel. In conclusion, these MEMS resonator methods can potentially increase the sensitivity of the ME sensor even further. The unequal excitation frequency of the MEMS resonator and the resonance frequency of the ME sensor currently limit the performance. Furthermore, the MEMS resonator as a coil replacement also enables the complete sensor system to be scaled down. Therefore, optimizations to match both frequencies even better are under investigation.
Influence of crosslinking on the drug release of PLLA/gelatin nonwovens
Authors: Wulf Katharina , Grabow Niels , Illner Sabine
Published: September 2022

Electrospun fibers based on synthetic and natural polymers represent a promising approach in order to mimic the mechanical stability and the required cell-polymer interaction of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), . In this biomedical context, the biodegradable medical grade poly-llactide (PLLA) and the natural gelatin are already well established. However, to obtain a stabilized structured PLLA/gelatin blend, crosslinking of gelatin is required. In this study, the influence of the post processed crosslinking via Glutaraldehyde (GTA) vapor and GTA solution on the morphological and physicochemical properties of the blend, as well as on the in vitrorelease of previously incorporated dexamethasone (DMS), was investigated. The addition of gelatin decreased the fiber diameter and increased the surface hydrophilicity, which is furthermore unaffected by the crosslinking process. The in vitrorelease of DMS was decisively changed by both, the addition of gelatin and the subsequent crosslinking processes. For all modified samples, a very rapid burst release of DMS was detected within the first 24 h, which is crucial for biomedical applications such as tumor therapy.
Water-supported femtosecond laser ablation of Nitinol for cardiovascular stents
Authors: Grossmann Swen , Bohne Eric , Senz Volkmar , Grabow Niels , Schmitz Klaus-Peter , Siewert Stefan
Published: September 2022

Nitinol became one of the most prominent materials for biomedical devices. The unique properties such as the shape memory effect and the superelasticity enabled new applications, particularly in the field of stent technologies. Due to their thermosensitivity, manufacturing processes are required that control the heat accumulation in the material. Here we investigate the femtosecond laser ablation of Nitinol supported by a water flow inside the processed tube. We show that laser absorption in the water prevents annealing of the Nitinol, even for high pulse energies. Furthermore, we investigate the groove profiles by scanning electron microscopy and observe minor improvements in the processed structure when using water flow inside the tube. The results show that water-supported femtosecond laser ablation can be used to optimize the fabrication of medical devices such as cardiovascular stents and to reduce processing times.