bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nesting Ecology of West African Dwarf Crocodiles in a Heavily Disturbed Landscape in Chirehin, Ghana
Authors: Amoah Emmanuel , Danquah Emmanuel , Perran Ross James
Published: June 2021

West African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus sp. nov. cf. tetraspis) are among the most threatened crocodilians in the world due to unregulated hunting and habitat loss-related population decline. Despite this, many questions about their basic ecology remain unanswered and this inadequate data hampers effective dwarf crocodile management. We describe incubation temperature, nesting success, hatching rate, and clutch size of West African dwarf crocodiles. We monitored 18 nests from the 2017 and 2018 nesting seasons in the Chirehin Community Land—a highly disturbed agricultural matrix in the climatic transition zone of Ghana. We used Hobo tidbit® data loggers to monitor egg chamber temperature and the effect of ambient temperature on nest temperature. The daily mean incubation temperature recorded during the study was 30.7°C (±SD = 0.8°C, n = 240, range = 28–33°C) and it is congruent with the reported value for the species. The findings from this study suggest a weak positive to no correlation between dwarf crocodile incubation temperature and ambient temperature indicating nest temperature is almost independent of ambient temperature. We found a mean clutch size of 8 eggs per nest (SD = ±2; range = 5–13; n = 17) supporting previous reports that this genus has a low clutch size. The mean nesting success and hatching success across the two seasons were 77.8% and 75.3% (SD = ±41.9, n = 18), respectively. Three nests were destroyed by flood and one by an unknown predator suspected to be a West African Nile monitor lizard. Generally, dwarf crocodiles selected forest patches within the highly disturbed landscape for nesting indicating the need to protect the remaining forest patches. Efforts should be made to repeat the study across this species’ range for an improved understanding of its nesting ecology.
High-Order Iterative Scheme for a Viscoelastic Wave Equation and Numerical Results
Authors: Quynh Doan Thi Nhu , Nam Bui Duc , Thanh Le Thi Mai , Dung Tran Trinh Manh , Nhan Nguyen Huu
Published: June 2021

In this paper, we consider a Robin problem for a viscoelastic wave equation. First, by the high-order iterative method coupled with the Galerkin method, the existence of a recurrent sequence via an

N

-order iterative scheme is established, and then the

N

-order convergent rate of the obtained sequence to the unique weak solution of the proposed model is also proved. Next, with

N
=
2

, a numerical algorithm given by the finite-difference method is constructed to approximate the solution via the 2-order iterative scheme. Moreover, the same algorithm for the single-iterative scheme generated by the 2-order iterative scheme is also considered. Finally, comparison with errors of the numerical solutions obtained by the single-iterative scheme and the 2-order iterative scheme shows that the convergent rate of the 2-order iterative scheme is faster than that of the single-iterative scheme.
FeatureTransfer: Unsupervised Domain Adaptation for Cross-Domain Deepfake Detection
Authors: Chen Baoying , Tan Shunquan
Published: June 2021

Recently, various Deepfake detection methods have been proposed, and most of them are based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). These detection methods suffer from overfitting on the source dataset and do not perform well on cross-domain datasets which have different distributions from the source dataset. To address these limitations, a new method named FeatureTransfer is proposed in this paper, which is a two-stage Deepfake detection method combining with transfer learning. Firstly, The CNN model pretrained on a third-party large-scale Deepfake dataset can be used to extract the more transferable feature vectors of Deepfake videos in the source and target domains. Secondly, these feature vectors are fed into the domain-adversarial neural network based on backpropagation (BP-DANN) for unsupervised domain adaptive training, where the videos in the source domain have real or fake labels, while the videos in the target domain are unlabelled. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method FeatureTransfer can effectively solve the overfitting problem in Deepfake detection and greatly improve the performance of cross-dataset evaluation.
Research on Ground Settlement Regularity of Soft Rock Tunnel under Ultrasmall Distance
Authors: Zhang Chunwu , Hou Wei , Sun Zongjun , Gu Li
Published: June 2021

During the tunnel construction under the road, the shallower the tunnel depth, the greater the effect of the surface settlement. Thus, to analyze the ground settlement caused by tunnel construction under ultrasmall distance, the research is based on a tunnel in Ningqiang County and uses numerical simulation and measurement to analyze the ground settlement and the effect of reinforcement measures. The research draws the following conclusions. For the ultrasmall distance tunnel under road construction, the combination of pipe shed and advanced small pipe grouting reinforcement measures inhibits the surface settlement. After the advanced small pipe is reinforced, the surface settlement value is reduced by about 25%, and the reinforcement effect is more obvious after the increase of the large pipe shed. The surface settlement value is reduced by about 60%. The surface settlement caused by the excavation of the circular soil accounts for about 50%–60% of the total settlement value, which is for the whole construction. The key processes, which involve the combination of reinforcement measures, focused on the suppression of surface settlement caused by the excavation of the circular soil. After the reinforcement measures, the variation of the settlement groove width was not obvious but the curvature and peak value of the settlement groove is reduced significantly.
Natural Killer Cell Dysfunction in Obese Patients with Breast Cancer: A Review of a Triad and Its Implications
Authors: Elaraby Esraa , Malek Abdullah Imadeddin , Abdullah Hanan W. , Elemam Noha Mousaad , Saber-Ayad Maha , Talaat Iman M.
Published: June 2021

Natural killer cells (NK cells) are a crucial constituent of the innate immune system as they mediate immunity against viruses, bacteria, parasites, and most importantly, tumor cells. The exact mechanism of how the innate immune system and specifically NK cells interact with cancer cells is complex and is yet to be understood. Several factors that constitute the tumor microenvironment (TME) such as hypoxia and TGF-β are believed to play a role in the complex physiological reaction of NK cells to tumor cells. On the other hand, several risk factors are implicated in the development and progression of breast cancer, most importantly: obesity. Cytokines released from adipose tissue such as adipokines, leptin, and resistin, among others, are also believed to facilitate tumor progression. In this study, we aimed to build a triad of breast cancer, obesity, and NK cell dysfunction to elucidate a link between these pillars on a cellular level. Directing efforts towards solidifying the link between these factors will help in designing a targeted immunotherapy with a low side-effect profile that can revolutionize breast cancer treatment and improve survival in obese patients.
Estimation of the Bid-Ask Prices for the European Discrete Geometric Average and Arithmetic Average Asian Options
Authors: Luo Xiankang , Chen Tao
Published: June 2021

Conic finance is a new and exciting development in quantitative finance, which is widely applied to several topics in finance. The theory of conic finance extends the law of one price to the law of two prices, which yields closed forms for bid-ask prices of European options. In this paper, within the framework of conic finance, we derive effective, explicit, approximate formulas to estimate the bid-ask prices for the European discrete geometric average and arithmetic average Asian options. Finally, we give two examples to demonstrate and validate that the approximate closed-form solutions are efficient and accurate.
Craniofacial Reconstruction via Face Elevation Map Estimation Based on the Deep Convolution Neutral Network
Authors: Hu Yining , Wang Zhe , Pan Yueli , Xie Lizhe , Wang Zheng
Published: June 2021

In this study, to achieve the possibility of predicting face by skull automatically, we propose a craniofacial reconstruction method based on the end-to-end deep convolutional neural network. Three-dimensional volume data are obtained from 1447 head CT scans of Chinese people of different ages. The facial and skull surface data are projected onto two-dimensional space to generate a two-dimensional elevation map, and then, use the deep convolution neural network to realize the prediction of skull to face shape in two-dimensional space. The encoder and decoder are composed of first feature extraction through the encoder and then as the input of the decoder to generate the craniofacial restoration image. In order to accurately describe the features of different scales, we adopt an U-shaped codec structure with cross-layer connections. Therefore, the output features are decomposed with the features of the corresponding scales in the encoding stage to achieve the integration of different scales while restoring the feature scales in the compression and decoding stage. Meanwhile, the U-net structures help to avoid the problem of loss of detail features in the downsampling process. We use supervised learning to obtain the prediction model from skull to facial elevation map. Back-projection operation is performed afterwards to generate facial surface data in 3D space. Experiments show that the proposed method in this study can effectively achieve craniofacial reconstruction, and for most part of the face, restoration error is controlled within 2 mm.
A Study of Nil Ideals and Kothe’s Conjecture in Neutrosophic Rings
Authors: Abobala Mohammad
Published: June 2021

The aim of this study is to determine the necessary and sufficient condition for any AH subset to be a full ideal in a neutrosophic ring R(I) and to be a nil ideal too. Also, this work shows the equivalence between Kothe’s conjecture in classical rings and corresponding neutrosophic rings, i.e., it proves that Kothe’s conjecture is true in the neutrosophic ring R(I) if and only if it is true in the corresponding classical ring R.
Recurrent Mutations in Cyclin D3 Confer Clinical Resistance to FLT3 Inhibitors in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Smith Catherine C. , Viny Aaron D. , Massi Evan , Kandoth Cyriac , Socci Nicholas D. , Rapaport Franck , Najm Matthieu , Medina-Martinez Juan S. , Papaemmanuil Elli , Tarver Theodore C. , Hsu Henry H. , Le Mai H. , West Brian , Bollag Gideon , Taylor Barry S. , Levine Ross L. , Shah Neil P.
Published: June 2021

Purpose:

Biomarkers of response and resistance to FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) are still emerging, and optimal clinical combinations remain unclear. The purpose of this study is to identify co-occurring mutations that influence clinical response to the novel FLT3 inhibitor pexidartinib (PLX3397).

Experimental Design:

We performed targeted sequencing of pretreatment blasts from 29 patients with FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD) mutations treated on the phase I/II trial of pexidartinib in relapsed/refractory FLT3-ITD+ acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We sequenced 37 samples from 29 patients with available material, including 8 responders and 21 non-responders treated at or above the recommended phase II dose of 3,000 mg.

Results:

Consistent with other studies, we identified mutations in NRAS, TP53, IDH2, and a variety of epigenetic and transcriptional regulators only in non-responders. Among the most frequently mutated genes in non-responders was Cyclin D3 (CCND3). A total of 3 individual mutations in CCND3 (Q276*, S264R, and T283A) were identified in 2 of 21 non-responders (one patient had both Q276* and S264R). No CCND3 mutations were found in pexidartinib responders. Expression of the Q276* and T283A mutations in FLT3-ITD MV4;11 cells conferred resistance to apoptosis, decreased cell-cycle arrest, and increased proliferation in the presence of pexidartinib and other FLT3 inhibitors. Inhibition of CDK4/6 activity in CCND3 mutant MV4;11 cells restored pexidartinib-induced cell-cycle arrest but not apoptosis.

Conclusions:

Mutations in CCND3, a gene not commonly mutated in AML, are a novel cause of clinical primary resistance to FLT3 inhibitors in AML and may have sensitivity to CDK4/6 inhibition.
AXL Inhibition in Macrophages Stimulates Host-versus-Leukemia Immunity and Eradicates Naïve and Treatment-Resistant Leukemia
Authors: Tirado-Gonzalez Irene , Descot Arnaud , Soetopo Devona , Nevmerzhitskaya Aleksandra , Schäffer Alexander , Kur Ivan-Maximilano , Czlonka Ewelina , Wachtel Carolin , Tsoukala Ioanna , Müller Luise , Schäfer Anna-Lena , Weitmann Maresa , Dinse Petra , Alberto Emily , Buck Michèle C. , Landry Jonathan JM. , Baying Bianka , Slotta-Huspenina Julia , Roesler Jenny , Harter Patrick N. , Kubasch Anne-Sophie , Meinel Jörn , Elwakeel Eiman , Strack Elisabeth , Quang Christine Tran , Abdel-Wahab Omar , Schmitz Marc , Weigert Andreas , Schmid Tobias , Platzbecker Uwe , Benes Vladimir , Ghysdael Jacques , Bonig Halvard , Götze Katharina S. , Rothlin Carla V. , Ghosh Sourav , Medyouf Hind
Published: June 2021

Acute leukemias are systemic malignancies associated with a dire outcome. Because of low immunogenicity, leukemias display a remarkable ability to evade immune control and are often resistant to checkpoint blockade. Here, we discover that leukemia cells actively establish a suppressive environment to prevent immune attacks by co-opting a signaling axis that skews macrophages toward a tumor-promoting tissue repair phenotype, namely the GAS6/AXL axis. Using aggressive leukemia models, we demonstrate that ablation of the AXL receptor specifically in macrophages, or its ligand GAS6 in the environment, stimulates antileukemic immunity and elicits effective and lasting natural killer cell– and T cell–dependent immune response against naïve and treatment-resistant leukemia. Remarkably, AXL deficiency in macrophages also enables PD-1 checkpoint blockade in PD-1–refractory leukemias. Finally, we provide proof-of-concept that a clinical-grade AXL inhibitor can be used in combination with standard-of-care therapy to cure established leukemia, regardless of AXL expression in malignant cells.

Significance:

Alternatively primed myeloid cells predict negative outcome in leukemia. By demonstrating that leukemia cells actively evade immune control by engaging AXL receptor tyrosine kinase in macrophages and promoting their alternative priming, we identified a target which blockade, using a clinical-grade inhibitor, is vital to unleashing the therapeutic potential of myeloid-centered immunotherapy.

This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2659
Complete Remission with Incomplete Blood Count Recovery Is a Strong Predictor of Nonrelapse Mortality in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Danylesko Ivetta , Canaani Jonathan , Shimoni Avichai , Fein Joshua , Shem-Tov Noga , Yerushalmi Ronit , Shouval Roni , Nagler Arnon
Published: June 2021

Introduction: Achievement of an initial complete remission (CR) following induction chemotherapy is tightly correlated with survival in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, yet patients in CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) still experience improved outcomes compared with nonresponding patients. Whether CRi predicts prognosis in patients referred to an allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is incompletely defined. In this analysis, we evaluated whether clinical outcomes of transplanted AML patients in CR and CRi were significantly different. Methods: A retrospective single-center analysis of all de novo AML patients who underwent an allo-SCT between 2001 and 2015. The cohort included all adult patients with AML who underwent a first allo-SCT either in first or second CR or CRi at the time of transplantation. Results: The study cohort included 186 CR patients and 44 CRi patients. In univariate analysis, CRi was associated with inferior 3-year survival and 3-year nonrelapse mortality (NRM) compared to CR (41 vs. 62%; p = 0.022 and 27 vs. 10%; p = 0.006, respectively). In multivariate analysis, CRi was associated with decreased rates of survival (hazard ratio [HR] 2.01; 95% CI, 1.24–3.25; p = 0.005) and NRM (HR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.6–7.8; p = 0.002). Conclusion: CRi in transplanted AML patients is potentially a potent predictor of increased NRM and survival.
A Rare Occurrence of Sebaceous Carcinoma, Sebaceoma, Syringocystadenoma Papilliferum, and Trichoblastoma in a Single Nevus Sebaceous Lesion
Authors: Fathaddin Amany , Almukhadeb Eman
Published: June 2021

Nevus sebaceous (NS) is a benign tumor with the potential to develop secondary benign and malignant neoplasms. It is a rare phenomenon to develop 2 or more skin tumors in a single NS lesion. We report a case of multiple secondary tumors, such as sebaceoma, sebaceous carcinoma, syringocystadenoma papilliferum, and trichoblastoma, in a single NS lesion.
[18F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/CT to Assess the Early Metabolic Response in Patients with Hormone Receptor-Positive HER2-Negative Metastasized Breast Cancer Treated with Cyclin-Dependent 4/6 Kinase Inhibitors
Authors: Seifert Robert , Küper Alina , Tewes Mitra , Heuschmid Martin , Welt Anja , Fendler Wolfgang P. , Herrmann Ken , Decker Thomas
Published: June 2021

Introduction: Addition of cyclin-dependent 4/6 kinase (CDK4/6) inhibitors to endocrine therapy is standard of care in the treatment of women with advanced hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative breast cancer. However, the predictive factors for the treatment response to CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy are poorly elucidated. Early changes in the by [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) uptake of tumors receiving different kinds of therapy have proven to reliably predict treatment outcomes in a variety of malignancies. Therefore, the feasibility of early metabolic response assessment to predict the long-term treatment response to CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy was evaluated in the present study. Methods: Eight patients underwent FDG-PET/CT before and after the initiation of CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy (ribociclib, palbociclib or abemcaciclib). CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy was combined with either aromatase inhibition or fulvestrant. The median interval between the treatment start (including baseline PET) and the follow-up PET examination was 14 days. Conventional radiographic staging was performed 3 months after the start of CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy. The percentual changes in molecular tumor volume, SUVpeak, the summed SUVpeak of up to 5 metastases (PERCIST-5), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were calculated for each patient. Results: Three patients showed progressive disease after 3 months of CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy, whereas 5 patients showed disease control (3 stable disease and 2 partial remission). Disease control was maintained in these patients (follow-up range 7–22 months). Patients with disease control had a significantly greater decline in TLG (–55.3 vs. 16.7%; p < 0.05). The same was true for the PERCIST-5 (–21.9 vs. 11.3%, p < 0.05). All patients with progressive TLG showed treatment failure and/or a poor outcome. Conclusion: Elevated TLG on early FDG-PET seems to be associated with long-term treatment failure and a poor outcome in patients undergoing CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy for metastatic breast cancer. Early findings indicate a potential prognostic value of early FDG-PET in this setting and warrant a prospective evaluation.
Mental and Physical Self-Awareness of Alzheimer Patients: Decreased Awareness of Amnesia and Increased Fear of Falling Compared to Views of Families: The Tajiri and Wakuya Projects
Authors: Kumai Keiichi , Kawabata Nobuko , Meguro Kenichi , Takada Junko , Nakamura Kei , Yamaguchi Satoshi
Published: June 2021

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to examine self-awareness of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) regarding forgetfulness and physical status, with the goal of further psychological understanding of these patients. Methods: The 255 subjects included 33 healthy volunteers and 48 patients with mild cognitive impairment who were elderly community residents selected from the 2017 Wakuya Project and 174 consecutive outpatients with AD at the Tajiri Clinic. Test data were selected from a pooled database. Results from the Mini-Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Short Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES), and Everyday Memory Checklist (EMC) were used in the study. FES and EMC data were also obtained from family members for comparison. Results: EMC scores in the AD groups (mild to moderate and moderate to severe) were significantly higher (more complaining memory impairment) than those in the CDR 0 (healthy) group and significantly lower (less self-awareness for memory impairment) than the corresponding EMC scores of families of the subjects. In contrast, FES scores of the AD groups did not differ significantly from those of the CDR 0 group, and these scores were higher (more fear of falling) than those of family members. Additionally, family-FES scores of the AD groups were higher than those of the CDR 0 and 0.5 groups. Conclusion: The results showed an evidence of the heterogeneity of awareness, an emotional response (concern or fear, FES), and a cognitive appraisal of function (EMC). These may be explained whereby awareness of/fear of falling increases with AD due to a preserved emotional awareness, whereas awareness of cognitive impairment is impaired due to memory deficits.
Translation and brazilian cultural adaptation of the Assessment of Life Habits for Children
Authors: Silva Fernanda Pereira dos Santos , Brugnaro Beatriz Helena , Rocha Nelci Adriana Cicuto Ferreira
Published: June 2021

Introdução: Instrumentos de avaliação do desenvolvimento infantil são cada vez mais utilizados na clínica e pesquisa científica e o Brasil possui escassez de instrumentos validados para sua população. O instrumento Canadense Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H) para crianças foi desenvolvido para a avaliação dos hábitos de vida de crianças e ilustra a interação dinâmica entre fatores pessoais e ambientais. Objetivo: Traduzir e adaptar culturalmente a LIFE-H para crianças de 0 a 4 anos para a realidade brasileira. Métodos: Um linguista certificado e três fisioterapeutas qualificados participaram da fase de tradução. O instrumento traduzido (LIFE-H_BR) foi submetido à análise semântica e de conteúdo por estratos inferior (cinco usuários em potencial) e sofisticado (quatro usuários técnicos). Trinta profissionais da saúde participaram da adaptação cultural. Um coeficiente de concordância bruta foi aplicado para as análises Semântica e de Conteúdo e uma análise de Correlação de Distâncias foi aplicada entre os juízes. Resultados: Alta concordância e similaridade entre os juízes técnicos no processo de tradução e necessidade de adaptação cultural de 29 itens. Conclusões: O LIFE-H_BR pode ser utilizado para avaliação dos hábitos de vida de crianças brasileiras de 0 a 4 anos.
Dupla tarefa ecológica e seu impacto na mobilidade funcional de idosos
Authors: Carvalho Regiane Luz , Rodrigues Vinícius Batalini , Franco Laura Rezende , Vilas Boas Vanessa
Published: June 2021

O celular tem feito parte das atividades diárias e oferece várias facilidades para os idosos. Como outras conveniências da vida moderna seu uso pode apresentar alguns efeitos que devem ser explorados. Objetivo: Investigar o efeito do celular na mobilidade funcional de adultos (GA) e idosos (GI). Método: Participaram deste estudo 30 idosos, 70,96 ± 5,17 anos e 30 adultos 23±2,26 anos. Foram avaliados pelo MEEM, FES-I e TUG que foi coletado durante a execução de 5 tarefas (TUG 1 simples, TUG 2 dupla tarefa (DT) digitando ao celular, TUG 3 DT respondendo perguntas ao celular, TUG 4 DT nomeando os dias da semana ao contrário, TUG 5 DT segurando um copo com água). Resultados: Houve diferença entre os grupos na FES-I (p=0,001) e no TUG em todas as tarefas analisadas (p=0,00001). A DT de digitar ao celular foi a que mais afetou o desempenho dos idosos no TUG (p=0,00008) seguida pela DT 4 (cognitiva convencional) p= 0,005 e DT 3 (p=0,004). Não houve efeito da DT 5 (motora) (p=0,03). Para o GA só houve efeito da DT 2 (p=0,027). Conclusão: O uso do celular impactou de forma negativa a performance de idosos e pode ser considerado uma DT mais realista. A distração gerada por esta tarefa pode aumentar o risco de queda e deve ser considerada em campanhas preventivas assim como programas de reabilitação.
Tecnologia assistiva e deficiência: avaliação clínica e resultados funcionais
Authors: Imamura Marta
Published: June 2021

A tecnologia assistiva é definida como a aplicação de conhecimento e habilidades relacionada aos produtos assistivos incluindo os sistemas e os serviços. A tecnologia assistiva é um subitem da tecnologia em saúde. Já o produto assistivo é qualquer produto, incluindo equipamentos, aparelhos, instrumentos ou software, especialmente produzidos e desenvolvidos e geralmente disponíveis. O seu objetivo primário é o de manter ou o de melhorar a funcionalidade do indivíduo e a sua independência, promovendo assim o seu bem-estar. A tecnologia assistiva permite a acessibilidade, promove a inclusão, a participação e o engajamento de pessoas com deficiências, idosos ou com comorbidades incapacitantes. Estas ações facilitadoras são observadas na família, na comunidade e em todas as áreas da sociedade, incluindo as esferas política, economica e social.
Análise comparativa dos resultados funcionais obtidos em 100 artroplastias totais do joelho pela fisioterapia convencional isolada ou associada à movimentação passiva contínua
Authors: Máximo Eliane Machado , Masiero Danilo , Mestriner Luiz Aurélio
Published: June 2021

Estudo prospectivo de 85 pacientes submetidos a 100 artroplastias totais dos joelhos (15 bi laterais) no período compreendido entre junho de 1991 a junho de 1994. Os pacientes foram distribuídos em dois grupos. O grupo I, constituído de 44 pacientes (50 joelhos), foi submetido à fisioterapia convencional isolada e o grupo II de 45 pacientes (50 joelhos) à fisioterapia convencional associada à MPC (movimentação passiva contínua). O objetivo foi estabelecer possíveis diferenças entre os dois tipos de tratamento fisioterápico com relação ao tempo mínimo necessário para atingir 60 graus de flexão, tempo de hospitalização, variação percentual do arco de movimento pré e pós-operatório e condições da ferida operatória. Foi também analisada a evolução do arco de movimento por ocasião da alta hospitalar; e aos três, seis, nove e doze meses. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante em relação aos parâmetros analisados.
Disability in Olympic Games
Authors: Borato Lucas André , Monteiro Carlos Bandeira de Mello , Ventura Deisy de Freitas Lima , Massa Marcelo
Published: June 2021

Paralympians’ participation in the Olympic Games is marked by intense debate. To evaluate disabilities, we should avoid literal definitions and rather consider the diverse factors that may influence a person’s functions and functionality. This article analyses two cases of disabled athletes: Oscar Pistorius and Alan Fonteles. We understand that, if an athlete, despite of any disability, feels he or she is able to compete with others, this athlete should not be prohibited to do so. Moreover, without scientific evidence that an athlete has advantages over others, people with disabilities should be allowed to participate in any championship.
Jurisprudência do Tribunal de São Paulo em ações de responsabilidade civil por erro médico em cirurgias do quadril
Authors: Fabrício Adriana Salvany , Fabrício Sidney de Carvalho , Da Motta Marcia Vieira
Published: June 2021

A incidência de ações por erro médico vem crescendo ao longo dos anos no Brasil, sendo, em sua maioria, relacionadas a procedimentos cirúrgicos. A área ortopédica, devido à grande quantidade de cirurgias realizadas em sua prática, encontra-se dentre as especialidades com risco considerável de processos indenizatórios. As cirurgias do quadril representam grande parte do volume de cirurgias ortopédicas. Este trabalho analisou o perfil das decisões judiciais em âmbito cível relacionadas a má prática profissional, em cirurgias na região do quadril, no Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo – TJSP, no ano de 2018. Das 14 decisões encontradas em segunda instância, de ações de responsabilidade civil por erro médico em cirurgias no quadril, a maioria (57,1%) foi considerada improcedente, não tendo sido caracterizada a culpa na conduta profissional. Dos cinco casos considerados procedentes, em quatro houve culpa na conduta do médico que realizou a cirurgia, sendo que em um caso houve responsabilização apenas pela conduta do hospital e não dos médicos, por tratar-se de infecção hospitalar. Em todos os casos em que houve condenação, a responsabilização do médico foi devida à inobservância de condutas padronizadas na literatura médica ou por uso de técnicas cirúrgicas não adequadas aos padrões descritos cientificamente.
Avaliação do perfil jurisprudencial encontrado no Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da Segunda Região de São Paulo decorrente das alegações de exposição ocupacional do frentista ao benzeno
Authors: Brandão Giancarlo Rodrigues , Sá Eduardo Costa , Da Motta Marcia Vieira
Published: June 2021

A exposição ocupacional ao benzeno, substância reconhecidamente cancerígena e hematotóxica, é notória na área siderúrgica, mas pode ocorrer em trabalhadores de empresas que produzem, transportam, armazenam, utilizam ou manipulam derivados de petróleo de maneira geral, como em postos de gasolina. Com a especial atenção à prevenção da sua contaminação pelos frentistas, dada pela Lei Estadual n. 16.656, de 12 de janeiro de 2018, que reforça as normativas sanitárias vigentes de proteção ocupacional dos trabalhadores, buscou-se a frequência com que casos desta natureza chegam aos tribunais trabalhistas e o entendimento dos magistrados ao fundamentar a concessão ou a negativa do direito pleiteado. Nos últimos 18 anos, apenas seis casos de frentistas foram julgados pelo Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 2a Região por alegada contaminação por benzeno ocupacional. Destes, cinco eram originários de Varas do Trabalho do Litoral Paulista e um da capital. Em apenas um caso não houve perícia, pela impossibilidade de realização de exame presencial, já que o funcionário havia falecido por leucemia. Em outro, foi autorizado novo exame pericial, pois o perito originário desconhecia base científica que relacionasse exposição ocupacional à gasolina com o quadro de leucemia apresentado pelo frentista. Nos demais, as doenças apresentadas foram leucopenia, neutropenia/leucopenia, adenocarcinoma de tiroide e rinite/laringite, tendo sido encontrado nexo entre a exposição e o adoecimento apenas nos dois primeiros casos. No último acórdão encontrado, o frentista buscava somente o reconhecimento da insalubridade do local de trabalho, o que lhe foi negado por prova pericial do posto de combustível. Muito embora poucos casos tenham chegado aos tribunais buscando a responsabilização do empregador em virtude de contaminação ocupacional pelo benzeno em frentistas, a amostra demonstra a importância do histórico de exames médicos periódicos ocupacionais dos funcionários para o esclarecimento da natureza do adoecimento, bem como o conhecimento técnico e científico do perito judicial.
Does Local Coherence Lead to Targeted Regressions and Illusions of Grammaticality?
Authors: Paape Dario , Vasishth Shravan , Engbert Ralf
Published: June 2021

Local coherence effects arise when the human sentence processor is temporarily misled by a locally grammatical but globally ungrammatical analysis (The coach smiled at the player tossed a frisbee by the opposing team). It has been suggested that such effects occur either because sentence processing occurs in a bottom-up, self-organized manner rather than under constant grammatical supervision, or because local coherence can disrupt processing due to readers maintaining uncertainty about previous input. We report the results of an eye-tracking study in which subjects read German grammatical and ungrammatical sentences that either contained a locally coherent substring or not and gave binary grammaticality judgments. In our data, local coherence affected on-line processing immediately at the point of the manipulation. There was, however, no indication that local coherence led to illusions of grammaticality (a prediction of self-organization), and only weak, inconclusive support for local coherence leading to targeted regressions to critical context words (a prediction of the uncertain-input approach). We discuss implications for self-organized and noisy-channel models of local coherence.
A tipping point for open citation data
Authors: Hutchins B. Ian
Published: June 2021

Open citation data can improve the transparency and robustness of scientific portfolio analysis, improve science policy decision-making, stimulate downstream commercial activity, and increase the discoverability of scientific articles. Once sparsely populated, public-domain citation databases crossed a threshold of one billion citations in February 2021. Shortly thereafter, the threshold of one billion public domain citations from the Crossref database alone was crossed. As the relative advantage of withholding data in closed databases has diminished with the flood of public domain data, this likely constitutes an irreversible change in the citation data ecosystem. The successes of this movement can guide future open data efforts.
“Spoiling” in the Public Sphere: Political Opposition to Peace Negotiations and the Referendum Campaign in Colombia
Authors: Amaral Joana
Published: June 2021

Peace referendums can be exploited by political actors who may gain politically from opposing a peace process. This article explores how political opposition affects peace negotiations, particularly when a referendum is used to ratify an agreement, through the study of the Colombian peace negotiations between the government of President Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It finds that the exclusive character of the negotiations, coupled with their confidentiality, contributed to the political opposition’s capacity to influence public opinion against the peace process and to reject the peace agreement in the 2016 referendum. This qualitative study is based on the content analysis of reports, memoirs and interviews with key negotiation delegates, journalists and representatives of the referendum campaigns. It argues that political inclusion in peace negotiations can help prevent referendum spoiling, while public information and education during the negotiations can reduce the impact of disinformation and manipulation campaigns.
Doping and Annealing Effects on the Optical Bandgap of the Nickel Doped Copper Oxide Thin Films
Authors: S. Bahabri Fatmah , Y. Mahmoud Alaa , A. Alghameeti Wafa
Published: June 2021

In this work, we study the optical properties of the Nickel doped cupric oxide Ni-CuO thin films with Ni various doping concentrations (0, 20, 30, 50, 70, and 80%), at two different annealing temperatures; 200 and 400 °C. The absorbance and optical bandgap for the films are calculated
and compared. We find that all films exhibit clear peaks in the visible range, with the increase in the absorptivity via increasing both annealing and Ni concentration. We also find that the annealing affects the shape of the absorbance peaks to be narrowed and blue shifted. Investigation
on the direct bandgap energy shows that all films exhibit large direct gap; ranging from 3.87 to 4.01 eV. For non-annealed films, direct bandgap increases with increasing the Ni concentration, while for the annealed samples, the direct bandgap generally decreases by annealing, and with increasing
the doping concentration. For the indirect bandgap analysis, the calculated values of the bandgap are ranging from 0.62 to 1.96 eV. We find that for non-annealed films, the indirect bandgap increases with increasing the doping concentration, while after annealing, the bandgap decreases with
increasing the doping concentration for the annealing at 200 and 400 °C, with more decreasing in the gap at 400 °C.
Flexible Ethanol Sensor Based on ZnO-Based Nanomaterials Prepared by Hydrothermal Method
Authors: Zhang Ke , Lin Zhongde
Published: June 2021

Metal oxide semiconductor ethanol sensor is widely used in alcohol driving detection, biomedical and industrial fields. As a typical n-type semiconductor, ZnO has a certain response to ethanol at a certain temperature, but there is still a large room for improvement in gas sensing
characteristics such as sensitivity, response and recovery time, selectivity and so on. In this paper, the orthogonal experiment is used to design the experiment. Taking the hydrothermal reaction time, hydrothermal reaction temperature and the molar ratio of zinc oxide to thiourea as the three
important variables in the orthogonal experiment, nine groups of representative ZnO-ZnS powder samples with different process combinations are prepared by hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology of the nine samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). The optimal preparation scheme of ZnO-ZnS is selected, and the sensor based on polyimide is integrated. The gas sensing characteristics of ZnO-ZnS and pure ZnO sensors are tested by static gas distribution method. The results show that ZnO-ZnS
nano materials have good sensitivity to ethanol, and the sensitivity to 100 ppm ethanol gas is 67.35 at 300 °C, and the response and recovery time is about 15 seconds. The prepared flexible sensor also shows good selectivity and stability, which provides a reference for the preparation
of high-performance flexible ethanol sensor in the future test.
Position-insensitive estimation of mass from limit cycle of velocity feedback relay system with Spring
Authors: Mizuno Takeshi , Egawa Taku , Takasaki Masaya , Ishino Yuji
Published: June 2021

Mass measurement using relay feedback of velocity and restoring force compensation is investigated for determining the mass of an object under weightless conditions. In the measurement system, the velocity of the object is fed back through a relay with hysteresis and the force acting on the object is switched from a positive value to a negative value when the velocity reaches a positive threshold and vice versa. As a result, a limit cycle is induced in the measurement system and the mass is estimated based on the period of the limit cycle. In addition, restoring force compensation with a spring is introduced to avoid the drift of the trajectory. This compensation makes the static equilibrium state unique. However, the trajectory still drifts slightly. It causes some error in measurement when a simple formula of estimating mass is applied. To eliminate such an error, a new formula is derived to estimate the mass independently of the position of the trajectory that is determined by the switching positions in the relay actions. When the switching positions deflect from the origin at which the spring is in the natural length, the trajectory is not at the center and becomes asymmetric. It is analytically shown that the period of the limit cycle is minimum when the switching positions are at the origin. It indicates that mass is overestimated with the simple estimation formula when the trajectory is not at the center. The validity of the modified formula and the analytical results are confirmed experimentally.
Major organ loss from post-mortem animal predation: Issues arising from emptied body cavities
Authors: Byard Roger W
Published: June 2021

The feeding of animals on bodies after death – so-called post-mortem animal predation – may complicate autopsy interpretations when there has been removal of significant amounts of skin and tissues. An extreme situation which sometimes arises is the complete evisceration and/or consumption of all major cavity organs. Search of autopsy files at Forensic Science South Australia was undertaken for examples of this phenomenon. Although such a finding at autopsy may suggest the actions of larger animals such as dogs or sharks, it may also occur when groups of smaller animals, such as cats, act in concert. Complete loss of organs may also occur if significant insect activity accompanies decomposition. Empty body cavities may therefore result from of a wide variety of animal activities involving a range of species in quite different environments. A significant problem once organs have been removed or consumed is in identifying or excluding natural diseases or injuries that may have played a role in the lethal episode.
Vascularity Outcomes of Lingual Artery Ligation in Transoral Robotic Base of Tongue Resections
Authors: Dunlap Quinn , Mitchell William M. , Gardner James Reed , King Deanne , Samant Rohan , Moreno Mauricio , Vural Emre
Published: June 2021

To explore the effect of lingual artery ligation on tongue vascularity, we performed an analysis of 25 patients who underwent transoral robotic surgery for base of tongue cancers (May 2011 to December 2019). Hounsfield units of the intrinsic muscles (IMs) and genioglossus muscles (GGs) were measured in postoperative imaging (mean 4 months) as a surrogate for vascularity. In ligated patients (n = 15), the values from the ligated/resected side of the tongue were compared with the contralateral side and the nonligated side of resection. Individually, IMs and GGs on the ligated side demonstrated no significant difference to the contralateral side (P =. 662 and. 618, respectively). Ligation produced a significant decrease in IM measurements but no difference between GG values vs nonligated patients (P =. 050 and. 818, respectively). No difference was appreciated in mean values for combined IMs and GGs between cohorts (P =. 212). No gross tongue atrophy or complications were incurred. Future studies are warranted to delineate long‐term effects.
Examining fruit and vegetable intake in low-income older adults using the Veggie Meter®
Authors: Fultz Amanda Kopetsky , Rex Samantha M. , Mazelin Audrey , McGarry Charlotte , Brewer Ben , Patterson Freda , Robson Shannon
Published: June 2021

Background:

Older adults report low fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. The lack of objective, field-based assessments of FV intake is a limitation when assessing the effectiveness of interventions.

Aim:

To examine if self-reported FV intake was correlated with Veggie Meter® scores among low-income older adults. The Veggie Meter® is a portable tool that uses pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy to estimate skin carotenoid measurements.

Methods:

A cross-sectional assessment of FV intake, food security, and Veggie Meter® score in low-income older adults was conducted. Bivariate analyses quantified the association between FV intake and Veggie Meter® score.

Results:

Participants ( n = 154) were mostly female (69.3%), non-white (66.2%) and at risk for food insecurity (65.6%). Mean Veggie Meter® score was 172.3 ± 77.2 and had a small significant positive correlation with FV intake (r= 0.192, p = 0.018).

Conclusion:

The Veggie Meter® may objectively indicate FV intake. Research to validate the Veggie Meter® in older, diverse populations is needed.
Accentism on Trial: Categorization/Stereotyping and Implicit Biases Predict Harsher Sentences for Foreign-Accented Defendants
Authors: Romero-Rivas Carlos , Morgan Charlotte , Collier Thomas
Published: June 2021

In this study, participants were presented with two tasks: the Implicit Association Test (IAT), and a mock trial task. In both tasks, the auditory stimuli were produced by native or foreign-accented speakers, and presented either free of noise or mixed with background white noise, to estimate the role of processing fluency on jurors’ appraisals. In the IAT, participants showed positive implicit biases toward native speech, and negative implicit biases toward foreign-accented speech. In the mock trial task, participants gave much harsher sentences to the foreign-accented than native defendant, but only when defendants’ statements were free of noise. Moreover, we found that participants’ implicit biases were a relevant predictor of the sentences they gave to the defendants. Our results suggest that categorization/stereotyping is the main mechanism responsible for the effect of defendants’ accents on jurors’ appraisals, and that members of an estimated group who violate social norms are punished more severely.
Evaluating the mental health and well-being of Canadian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak
Authors: Wilbiks Jonathan M. P. , Best Lisa A. , Law Moira A. , Roach Sean P.
Published: June 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems have been under extreme levels of stress due to increases in patient distress and patient deaths. While additional research and public health funding initiatives can alleviate these systemic issues, it is also important to consider the ongoing mental health and well-being of professionals working in healthcare. By surveying healthcare workers working in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that there was an elevated level of depressive symptomatology in that population. We also found that when employees were provided with accurate and timely information about the pandemic, and additional protective measures in the workplace, they were less likely to report negative effects on well-being. We recommend that healthcare employers take these steps, as well as providing targeted mental health interventions, in order to maintain the mental health of their employees, which in turn will provide better healthcare at the population level.
An Outcome-Centered Comparative Analysis of Counter-Human Trafficking Coalitions in the Global South
Authors: Foot Kirsten , Sworn Helen , Alejano-Steele AnnJanette
Published: June 2021

A recurring set of questions in the multidisciplinary literature on interorganizational collaboration concerns the relationships between collaboration structures, processes, activities, and outcomes for the coalition as well the societal problem(s) the coalition seeks to address. These questions apply to counter-human trafficking coalitions as well. This mixed-method study helps address several gaps in extant scholarship via a comparative analysis of three nationally-scoped, counter-human trafficking coalitions comprised of nonprofit organizations operating in Global South countries. The key finding is that constructive leadership practices explain positive outcomes in ways that structures and activities do not. Implications are articulated for coalition leaders.