bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of bottled fluoridated water to prevent dental caries in primary teeth: study protocol for a phase 2 parallel-group 3.5-year randomized controlled clinical trial (waterBEST)
Authors: Sanders Anne E. , Divaris Kimon , Godebo Tewodros R. , Slade Gary D.
Published: March 2024

Background

Fluoridation of public water systems is known as a safe and effective strategy for preventing dental caries based on evidence from non-randomized studies. Yet 110 million Americans do not have access to a fluoridated public water system and many others do not drink tap water. This article describes the study protocol for the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of fluoridated water that assesses its potential dental caries preventive efficacy when delivered in bottles.

Methods

waterBEST is a phase 2b proof-of-concept, randomized, quadruple-masked, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial designed to estimate the potential efficacy of fluoridated versus non-fluoridated bottled water to prevent dental caries incidence in the first 4 years of life. Two hundred children living in eastern North Carolina, USA, and aged 2–6 months at screening are being allocated at random in a 1:1 ratio to receive fluoridated (0.7 mg/L F) or non-fluoridated bottled water sourced from two local public water systems. Throughout the 3.5-year intervention, study water is delivered monthly in 5-gallon bottles to each child’s home with instructions to use it whenever the child consumes water as a beverage or in food preparation. Parents are interviewed quarterly to monitor children’s water consumption and health. At annual visits, the presence of dental caries is evaluated with a dental screening examination. Clippings from fingernails and toenails are collected to quantify fluoride content as a biomarker of total fluoride intake. The primary endpoint is the number of primary tooth surfaces decayed, missing, or filled due to dental caries measured by the study dentist near the time of the child’s fourth birthday. Tooth decay is assessed at the threshold of macroscopic enamel loss. For the primary aim, a least-squares, generalized linear model will estimate efficacy and its one-tailed, upper 80% confidence limit.

Discussion

waterBEST is the first evaluation of a randomized intervention of fluoridated drinking water in bottles to prevent dental caries in the primary dentition. This innovative method of delivering fluoridated water has the potential to prevent early childhood caries in a large segment of the US population that currently does not benefit from fluoridated public water.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04893681. Registered on March 2022. Last update posted on 10 October 2023.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04893681?cond=Dental%20Caries%20in%20Children&term=fluoride&locStr=North%20Carolina,%20USA&country=United%20States&state=North%20Carolina&distance=50&rank=1
Detection of human platelets antigen polymorphism (HPA-1 and HPA-3) and human factor XIII mutation in Sudanese women with recurrent pregnancy loss
Authors: Babker Asaad MA. , Fadlalmula Huda Ahamed , Gamal G. Elggourish Amanda , Ahmed Hanan Khalid Fadul , Yousri Masoud Awad Shima , Elzaki Salaheldein G , Suliman Rania Saad , Bin Shaya Abdulkarim S. , Alfahed Abdulaziz , Alharthi Nahed S. , Hjazi Ahmed M , Hakami Nora Y. , Hakami Mohammed Ageeli , Almotiri Alhomidi , Waggiallah Hisham Ali
Published: March 2024

Background

Recurrent pregnancy Loss (RPL) is common problem affecting many couples. A certain genetic variants link to increase the danger of this condition particularly HPA-1, HPA-3 and Human Factor XIII Val34Leu Mutation. The present study aims to find an association between RPL and the Factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism, as well as HPA-1 and HPA-3 in Sudanese women with RPL.

Methods

This case-control study conducted between June 2022 and December 2022 included 216 women, with 103 cases having minimum three abortions in the past, and 113 healthy controls with at least two full-term births and no abortion history. DNA was isolated from whole blood and the status of three genetic polymorphisms (HPA-1, HPA-3, and factor XIII) was done using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Data was analysed using the SPSS version 24 software.

Results

The A/A genotype was found to be more prevalent in cases (79.6%) and controls (96.5%) regarding HPA-1. A significant difference was observed in overall allele frequency for B allele (97.0%) and expected frequency of A allele was (81.1%) using the Hardy-Weinberg distribution (p < 0.001). The genotype A/A was most common in these patients (90.3%) and controls (100%), while B/B genotype was only (9.7%) in patients regarding HPA-3. Furthermore, the frequency of Val/Val genotype was higher in cases (88.3%) as compared with controls (90.3%). The risk of RPL in patients was nearly the same in Val/Leu individuals and controls group but all these differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Our results indicate a link between Human Platelet Antigen-1 (HPA-1), Human Platelet Antigen-3 (HPA-3) and Factor XIII gene polymorphism with RPL.
Evaluation of the efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells derived conditioned medium in the treatment of striae distensae: a double blind randomized clinical trial
Authors: Behrangi Elham , Feizollahi Masoomeh , Zare Sona , Goodarzi Azadeh , Ghasemi Mohammad Reza , Sadeghzadeh-Bazargan Afsaneh , Dehghani Abbas , Nouri Maryam , Zeinali Roya , Roohaninasab Masoomeh , Nilforoushzadeh Mohammad Ali
Published: March 2024

Background

Striae distensae is a disfiguring atrophic skin condition that impairs the body’s aesthetic image. Despite the variety of conducted studies, there is controversy regarding the best modalities. Human mesenchymal stem cells are considered a rich source for scar treatment. Skin needling is among the most efficient and safe aesthetic and therapeutic devices. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of needling and intradermal injection of mesenchymal stem cells compared to skin needling alone for treating striae distensae.

Method

This study was a randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving 10 women aged 18–60. Each striae lesion was divided into two parts, with one side receiving needling and intradermal injection of conditioned medium, while the other side received needling and intradermal injection of normal saline. This treatment was administered in three sessions with three-week intervals. Patients were evaluated before the first intervention and three months after the final session. Three months after the completion of the intervention, patients’ lesions were evaluated using biometric criteria, physician evaluation, and patient self-assessment.

Results

The results demonstrated a significant improvement in dermal and complete thickness and skin density in patients treated with microneedling. All skin ultrasound parameters improved significantly in patients receiving the combination of needling and conditioned medium. When comparing the two groups, significantly higher physician and patient satisfaction was observed in the combination group. However, the comparison of biometric indices improvement wasn’t significant between these groups.

Conclusion

The combination of human mesenchymal stem cells with microneedling could be considered a novel effective option for stretch marks.
Embryonic stem cells overexpressing high molecular weight FGF2 isoform enhance recovery of pre-ganglionic spinal root lesion in combination with fibrin biopolymer mediated root repair
Authors: Lima B. H. M. , Cartarozzi L. P. , Kyrylenko S. , Ferreira R. S. , Barraviera B. , Oliveira Alexandre L. R.
Published: March 2024

Background

Spinal ventral root avulsion results in massive motoneuron degeneration with poor prognosis and high costs. In this study, we compared different isoforms of basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), overexpressed in stably transfected Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), following motor root avulsion and repair with a heterologous fibrin biopolymer (HFB).

Methods

In the present work, hESCs bioengineered to overexpress 18, 23, and 31 kD isoforms of FGF2, were used in combination with reimplantation of the avulsed roots using HFB. Statistical analysis was conducted using GraphPad Prism software with one-way or two-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s or Dunnett’s multiple comparison tests. Significance was set at *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001.

Results

For the first set of experiments, rats underwent avulsion of the ventral roots with local administration of HFB and engraftment of hESCs expressing the above-mentioned FGF2 isoforms. Analysis of motoneuron survival, glial reaction, and synaptic coverage, two weeks after the lesion, indicated that therapy with hESCs overexpressing 31 kD FGF2 was the most effective. Consequently, the second set of experiments was performed with that isoform, so that ventral root avulsion was followed by direct spinal cord reimplantation. Motoneuron survival, glial reaction, synaptic coverage, and gene expression were analyzed 2 weeks post-lesion; while the functional recovery was evaluated by the walking track test and von Frey test for 12 weeks. We showed that engraftment of hESCs led to significant neuroprotection, coupled with immunomodulation, attenuation of astrogliosis, and preservation of inputs to the rescued motoneurons. Behaviorally, the 31 kD FGF2 - hESC therapy enhanced both motor and sensory recovery.

Conclusion

Transgenic hESCs were an effective delivery platform for neurotrophic factors, rescuing axotomized motoneurons and modulating glial response after proximal spinal cord root injury, while the 31 kD isoform of FGF2 showed superior regenerative properties over other isoforms in addition to the significant functional recovery.
Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram model in locally advanced NSCLC based on metabolic features of PET/CT and hematological inflammatory indicators
Authors: Wang Congjie , Fang Jian , Jiang Tingshu , Hu Shanliang , Wang Ping , Liu Xiuli , Zou Shenchun , Yang Jun
Published: March 2024

Background

We combined the metabolic features of 18F-FDG-PET/CT and hematological inflammatory indicators to establish a predictive model of the outcomes of patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Results

A predictive nomogram was developed based on sex, CEA, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), mean SUV (SUVmean), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG). The nomogram presents nice discrimination that yielded an AUC of 0.76 (95% confidence interval: 0.66–0.86) to predict 1-year PFS, with a sensitivity of 63.6%, a specificity of 83.3%, a positive predictive value of 83.7%, and a negative predictive value of 62.9% in the training set. The calibration curves and DCA suggested that the nomogram had good calibration and fit, as well as promising clinical effectiveness in the training set. In addition, survival analysis indicated that patients in the low-risk group had a significantly longer mPFS than those in the high-risk group (16.8 months versus 8.4 months, P < 0.001). Those results were supported by the results in the internal and external test sets.

Conclusions

The newly constructed predictive nomogram model presented promising discrimination, calibration, and clinical applicability and can be used as an individualized prognostic tool to facilitate precision treatment in clinical practice.
Upgrading informal areas through sustainable urban development principles
Authors: Elgohary Maha Mohamed , Abdin Ahmed Reda , Khalil Heba Allah E.
Published: March 2024

Informal areas are considered one of the biggest urban problems worldwide; it was estimated in 2018 that 29% of the world’s urban population lived in informal areas (The world bank, Population living in slums, 2022). This research aimed to identify a set of criteria and principles that are the basis for sustainable development in informal areas to achieve a better quality of life for the community. After conducting a literature review of the sustainable development principles, indices, and sustainable development interventions within informal areas, the research links them to set informal areas’ sustainable development principles. Then, by relying on the experts’ questionnaires and their analysis through SPSS, the researchers utilized the experts’ input to define each principle’s relative weight. Additionally, the research applied the extracted principles to the Boulaq El Dakrour case study to assess the sustainability of previous developments undertaken in the area with community participation.
Bridging the voice of healthcare to digital transformation in practice – a holistic approach
Authors: Frisinger Ann , Papachristou Panagiotis
Published: March 2024

Background

Digital transformation is key for healthcare to meet future needs and expectations and compete equally with new actors on the market. Medical digital diagnosis tools and clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are improving and offer new opportunities. To introduce new technology in healthcare can however be a challenging mission, too often ending in failure, with excessive costs or the actual transformation work not being carried out at all. It is unclear how to drive the establishment to reach desired results in this environment, and how industrial experiences can be used to support healthcare.

Objective

The objective of this study was to develop a holistic approach for introducing new information technology (IT), such as a CDSS, into a primary healthcare organization supported by industry best practices for digital transformation.

Methods

This qualitative study used a combined inductive and deductive method where the perceptions and beliefs of selected primary healthcare stakeholders were used as directions for developing an approach that could utilize existing industry best practices for digital transformation.

Results

A holistic healthcare-ified approach including 20 requirements was developed, that meet the needs of healthcare. The voice of healthcare was used as prism to healthcare-ify the industry practices and adapt it to match specific healthcare conditions. An example was provided showing how the research could be put into practice.

Conclusions

This study proposed a holistic approach, based on industry best practices, but adapted to healthcare using the voice of healthcare as a bridge, that may be used to introduce CDSS and other IT into a primary healthcare organization and step up the needed digitalization.
Angel Hair Anthropology with Michel Serres
Authors: Bandak Andreas , Knight Daniel M.
Published: March 2024

The introduction argues for the advancement of anthropological theory through engagement with the work of Michel Serres. Particularly striking is the potentiality of porosity as a conceptual pivot to explore both Serres and ethnographic subjects. Touring Serres’s key works on time, religion, parasites, and ecology, the chapter argues that the porous becomings of interlocutors are best considered within the topological nexus of human–planetary concerns that Serres so skillfully navigates. Serres facilitates this scaling of individual and global, mundane and sublime, past and future through concepts such as background noise, bifurcation, contracts and percolators, and more-than-human messengers. Porosity here stands for communication between the disciplines, a transcendence of (beyond-)human realms, and journeys through horizons of space and time that connect often abstract theorizations with the grassroots realities of ethnographic knowledge.
Keeping to Oneself
Authors: Shryock Andrew
Published: March 2024

Anthropologists have given copious attention to problems of exchange, of giving and receiving. Yet problems of taking, unequal accumulation, secret storage, predation, and refusal to share are no less central to social life. This is certainly the case among Jordanian Bedouin, whose notions of hospitality are a complex blend of reciprocity, protection, and coercive extraction. The families of dominant tribal shaykhs are often known for their ability to take, to store away wealth, and to protect hordes of found and inherited treasure, both magical and mundane. By reading the oral historical traditions of the Balga tribes against familiar Maussian ideas and the models of parasitism suggested by Michel Serres, this chapter argues that hospitality, as Bedouin know it, is constructed in ways that resist the romanticism that besets anthropological portraits of “pre-capitalist” and “premodern” gift economies. The parasite is everywhere in social life, in past and present. If Serres is correct and parasitism precedes the gift and provokes gift-giving and hosting as a defensive response, it follows that moral economy will always evolve in dialogue with parasites and what they take. The results of this interaction, in the Balga of Jordan and in most other places, can be miraculous.
Angelology
Authors: Boylston Tom
Published: March 2024

This chapter considers the figure of the angel as found in Serres’s Angels: A Modern Myth and in the thought and practice of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. Its aim is not to theorize Ethiopia through the philosophy of Serres but to explore a matter of shared concern between them: asking how angels operate as divine message-bearers and agents of transformation. This comparison reveals angelology to be a deeply practical endeavor concerned with asking how messages get where they need to and how the world is organized such that meaning is possible. Serres draws the reader away from the secular territory to which anthropology usually confines itself; he allows the reader to ask questions about the nature of angels. But this also opens the possibility of speaking heretically, of uttering divine falsehoods. And so this chapter explores the problems—and opportunities—of anthropologists risking heresy.
Afterword
Authors: Bennett Jane , Bandak Andreas , Knight Daniel M.
Published: March 2024

The afterword takes the form of a conversation with Jane Bennett. It explores the methods and connections in Michel Serres’s work in relation to the production of knowledge about humans, nature, and the planet. It concludes that Serres might help start conceiving an anthropology that does not just operate on knowledge frequently marked by power struggles but comprehension. Comprehension allows a novel appreciation in and with bodies of what knowledge might imply and accordingly may allow the reader porously to devise better ways to inhabit the world.
Telomere length is an epigenetic trait – Implications for the use of telomerase-deficient organisms to model human disease
Authors: Henriques Catarina M. , Ferreira Miguel Godinho
Published: March 2024

Telomere length, unlike most genetic traits, is epigenetic, in the sense that it is not fully coded by the genome. Telomeres vary in length and randomly assort to the progeny leaving some individuals with longer and others with shorter telomeres. Telomerase activity counteracts this by extending telomeres in the germline and during embryogenesis but sizeable variances remain in telomere length. This effect is exacerbated by the absence of fully active telomerase. Telomerase heterozygous animals (tert+/−) have reduced telomerase activity and their telomeres fail to be elongated to wild-type average length, meaning that – with every generation – they decrease. After a given number of successive generations of telomerase-insufficient crosses, telomeres become critically short and cause organismal defects that, in humans, are known as telomere biology disorders. Importantly, these defects also occur in wild-type (tert+/+) animals derived from such tert+/− incrosses. Despite these tert+/+ animals being proficient for telomerase, they have shorter than average telomere length and, although milder, develop phenotypes that are similar to those of telomerase mutants. Here, we discuss the impact of this phenomenon on human pathologies associated with telomere length, provide a brief overview of telomere biology across species and propose specific measures for working with telomerase-deficient zebrafish.
Heart rate reduction during voluntary deep diving in free-ranging loggerhead sea turtles
Authors: Saito Ayaka , Kinoshita Chihiro , Sakai Kino , Sato Katsufumi , Sakamoto Kentaro Q.
Published: March 2024

Air-breathing vertebrates exhibit cardiovascular responses to diving including heart rate reduction (diving bradycardia). Field studies on aquatic mammals and birds have shown that the intensity of bradycardia can vary depending on diving behaviour, such as the depth of dives and dive duration. However, in aquatic reptiles, the variation in heart rate during deep dives under natural conditions has not been fully investigated. In this study, we released five loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) outfitted with recorders into the sea and recorded their electrocardiogram, depth, water temperature and longitudinal acceleration. After 3 days, the recorders automatically detached from the turtles. The heart rate signals were detected from the electrodes placed on the surface of the plastron. The mean (±s.d.) heart rate of 12.8±4.1 beats min–1 during dives was significantly lower than that of 20.9±4.1 beats min–1 during surface periods. Heart rate during dives varied with dive depth, although it remained lower than that at the surface. When the turtle dived deeper than 140 m, despite the relatively high flipper stroke rate (approximately 19 strokes min–1), the heart rate dropped rapidly to approximately 2 beats min–1 temporarily. The minimum instantaneous heart rate during dives was lower at deeper dive depths. Our results indicate that loggerhead sea turtles show variations in the intensity of diving bradycardia depending on their diving behaviour, similar to that shown by marine mammals and birds.
Adjuvant Chemoradiation in Resected Biliary Adenocarcinoma: Evaluation of SWOG S0809 with a Large National Database
Authors: Dominguez Dana A. , Wong Paul , Chen Yi-Jen , Singh Gagandeep P. , Fong Yuman , Li Daneng , Ituarte Philip H. G. , Melstrom Laleh G.
Published: March 2024

Background

There is a paucity of evidence supporting the use of adjuvant radiation therapy in resected biliary cancer. Supporting evidence for use comes mainly from the small SWOG S0809 trial, which demonstrated an overall median survival of 35 months. We aimed to use a large national database to evaluate the use of adjuvant chemoradiation in resected extrahepatic bile duct and gallbladder cancer.

Methods

Using the National Cancer Database, we selected patients from 2004 to 2017 with pT2-4, pN0-1, M0 extrahepatic bile duct or gallbladder adenocarcinoma with either R0 or R1 resection margins, and examined factors associated with overall survival (OS). We examined OS in a cohort of patients mimicking the SWOG S0809 protocol as a large validation cohort. Lastly, we compared patients who received chemotherapy only with patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation using entropy balancing propensity score matching.

Results

Overall, 4997 patients with gallbladder or extrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinoma with available survival information meeting the SWOG S0809 criteria were selected, 469 of whom received both adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Median OS in patients undergoing chemoradiation was 36.9 months, and was not different between primary sites (p = 0.841). In a propensity score matched cohort, receipt of adjuvant chemoradiation had a survival benefit compared with adjuvant chemotherapy only (hazard ratio 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.77–0.95; p = 0.004).

Conclusion

Using a large national database, we support the findings of SWOG S0809 with a similar median OS in patients receiving chemoradiation. These data further support the consideration of adjuvant multimodal therapy in resected biliary cancers.
Wybrane formy rzeźby terenu w sudeckiej części Geoparku Kraina Wygasłych Wulkanów (pd.-zach. Polska)
Authors: Migoń Piotr
Published: March 2024

Obszar Geoparku Kraina Wygasłych Wulkanów obejmuje część górską (sudecką) i przedgórską. W granicach geoparku znajdują się część Gór Kaczawskich, mających cechy gór niskich oraz część Pogórza Kaczawskiego. Mimo niewielkich wysokości bezwzględnych, rzeźba terenu jest różnorodna pod względem morfologicznym i genetycznym, a zróżnicowanie w dużej mierze nawiązuje do złożonej budowy geologicznej obszaru. Wyróżniające się zespoły form to wzniesienia i grzbiety twardzielcowe, zbudowane ze skał wulkanicznych wieku permskiego i kenozoicznego oraz elementy rzeźby krawędziowej (kuesty) rozwiniętej na permskich i mezozoicznych skałach osadowych. Wśród wzniesień zbudowanych z bazaltów część ma charakter neków. Do odpornościowego zróżnicowania podłoża nawiązują także przełomy rzeczne. Georóżnorodność obszaru uzupełniają formy skałkowe i odziedziczone formy środowiska peryglacjalnego, osuwiska, formy krasowe, przełomy rzeczne związane z reorganizacją sieci odwodnienia po zaniku lądolodu skandynawskiego oraz formy antropogeniczne, głównie związane z działalnością górniczą. Liczne miejsca wyróżniające się pod względem rzeźby mają charakter geostanowisk i są zagospodarowane geoturystycznie lub planowane do takiego zagospodarowania w przyszłości.
Rola łączności sieci dolinnej, rzecznej i drogowej w transporcie materiału zawieszonego w zlewni rolniczej i zalesionej (Pogórze Wiśnickie, Polska)
Authors: Święchowicz Jolanta , Natanek Adrianna
Published: March 2024

Poznanie źródeł osadów, szlaków i dynamiki transportu oraz czynników, które leżą u podstaw przestrzennej i czasowej zmienności w transporcie zawiesiny w rzekach jest nadal kluczowym zagadnieniem poznawczym w geomorfologii. W zlewni nakładają się na siebie trzy sieci umożliwiające transport wody i osadów. Są to naturalne sieci dolinna i rzeczna oraz związana z gospodarczą działalnością człowieka sieć drogowa. Sieć dolinna, rzeczna i drogowa są ze sobą połączone, a w miejscach tych połączeń może następować dostawa materiału do transportu rzecznego. Celem pracy jest poznanie roli sieci dolinnej, rzecznej i drogowej w transporcie zawiesiny w zlewni rolniczej i zalesionej. Podstawą opracowania są badania przeprowadzone w zlewniach Dworskiego Potoku i Leśnego Potoku położonych na Pogórzu Wiśnickim. W rolniczej zlewni Dworskiego Potoku wyróżniono 10 węzłów: ciek–ciek, ciek–dolina, dolina–dolina i droga–droga. Najwięcej skrzyżowań występuje pomiędzy dolinami (połączenie dolina–dolina) oraz pomiędzy dolinami i ciekami (połączenie ciek–dolina). W zalesionej zlewni Leśnego Potoku wyróżniono 497 węzłów: ciek–ciek, ciek–dolina, ciek–droga, dolina–dolina i droga–droga. Najwięcej węzłów występuje pomiędzy dolinami (połączenie dolina–dolina), następnie między drogami (połączenie droga–droga) oraz między dolinami i ciekami wodnymi (połączenie ciek–dolina). Mniej powszechne są połączenia dróg i dolin oraz dróg i cieków wodnych. Najmniej połączeń występuje pomiędzy ciekami wodnymi.
Makro- i mikrożużle w aluwiach równiny zalewowej Kamionki koło Jędrowa (Góry Świętokrzyskie) jako wskaźnik dawnej działalności metalurgicznej
Authors: Przepióra Paweł , Kalicki Tomasz , Houbrechts Geoffrey
Published: March 2024

Kamionka jest rzeką trzeciego rzędu i prawostronnym dopływem Kamiennej (Wyżyna Kielecka). W całej zlewni w ramach Staropolskiego Okręgu Przemysłowego rozwijał się przemysł metalurgiczny oraz młynarski. Młyn w Jędrowie (Suchedniów) jest jednym z niewielu obiektów na terenie Staropolskiego Okręgu Przemysłowego, który zachował się w dobrym stanie, włączając w to również pozostałości wciąż widocznej w rzeźbie infrastruktury hydrotechnicznej m.in. dawnej kuźnicy. Dotychczasowe badania w zlewni wykazały występowanie licznych śladów działalności metalurgicznej zachowanych w osadach równiny zalewowej Kamionki oraz dawnych stawów przemysłowych. Większość pozostałości po kuźnicy działającej w miejscu obecnego młyna reprezentuje żużel występujący m.in. w osadach jeziornych oraz na pobliskiej hałdzie. Wskaźnikiem średniowiecznego, a zwłaszcza nowożytnego hutnictwa na badanym stanowisku są również znajdowane w aluwiach węgielki drzewne datowane na ostatnie stulecia. Uzyskane wyniki potwierdzają liczne materiały historyczne opisujące dzieje tego miejsca. Oprócz makroskopowych fragmentów żużla odkryto również mikrosferulki występujące w aluwiach, które są produktem kucia żelaza w kuźnicy. Analiza z wykorzystaniem metody separacji magnetycznych sferulek żelaza (Magnetic Spherule Separation), dotychczas z powodzeniem stosowana była na rzekach ardeńskich. Po raz pierwszy użyto jej w badaniach rzek Gór Świętokrzyskich, w tym Kamionki w pobliżu Jędrowa. Separacja i pomiar tych artefaktów pozwala określić m.in. tempo akumulacji osadów pozakorytowych. Makro- i mikrożużle tworzą wyraźną warstwę przemysłową, która świadczy o akumulacji tych osadów w okresie funkcjonowania kuźnicy lub krótko po jej wygaszeniu. Zestawienie tych wyników z materiałami historycznymi pozwala na ustalenie wieku aluwiów oraz umożliwia rozpoznanie ewolucji równiny zalewowej w ostatnich stuleciach.
Arabska mądrość ludowa w 1001 egipskich przysłów i porzekadeł
Authors: Górska Elżbieta
Published: March 2024

This study falls within the scope of comparative paremiology. It offers a comprehensive lexical, semantic, and pragmatic analysis of over a thousand Egyptian folk proverbs and sayings, as well as literary Arabic ones, comparing them to their well-recognized Polish counterparts, or in the absence of such, authorial translations along with commentary. This approach showcases the richness of human imagination expressed in two distinct language families: Afro-Asiatic (Semitic) and Indo-European (Slavic). It does so by comparing metaphors that have originated in diverse geographic, social, and cultural contexts. The author deliberately refrains from commenting on the origins of these metaphors or suggesting the reasons behind the formation of a particular image within a given community. To accomplish this, further interdisciplinary studies would be essential, encompassing linguistic, historical, sociological, and cultural dimensions. Future projects of this sort would require substantial collaborative effort. This work aims to acquaint the reader with a selection of Arabic proverbs and sayings, which have been relatively unknown and unpublished in Poland until now. It also strives to present meticulously compiled source material, encompassing over a thousand examples. Contrasting this with the existing body of Polish proverbs may stimulate the reader’s imagination and prompt independent reflection on the perception of the world by societies that differ in many aspects. It may also draw attention to these distinctions, sensitizing individuals to their existence, and encouraging further exploration of the issues raised.
Sons of Levi to Servants of Christ: The Rite of Ordination of Deacons from 1962 to 2021
Authors: Caron Marc B.
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT: This article examines the modifications made to the rite of ordination of deacons in the first and second editions of De Ordinatione following the Second Vatican Council. Sacrosanctum Concilium , no. 76 called for the ceremonies and texts of ordination “to be revised.” In fact, the structure and sequence of the rites of ordination were considerably modified, as were all of the gestures associated with diaconal ordination. Most of the texts from the Pontificale Romanum of 1962 were completely replaced and new compositions were added. The levitical typology which had strongly marked the Roman rite of diaconal ordination throughout its history was greatly reduced in favor of numerous associations between deacons and Christ the servant.
"Completely Trapped": Gendered Translation in The New American Bible?
Authors: Tkacz Catherine Brown
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT: The Bible describes the education of only one woman, Susanna; she shows her learning by deftly paraphrasing King David when he, too, faced a life-threatening dilemma. Her history attests that biblical psalms and laws written in the masculine generic were in fact received generically, for they are applied to her. Moreover, she was the first woman Christians interpreted as a type of Christ, from the Synoptic Gospels on. Yet each of these traits is muted or absent from her history in the New America Bible. Surprisingly, misogynistic innovations from Renaissance art appear in this translation. Its methodology is therefore critiqued.
Girls on Fire: Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret (1861), Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown (1943), and the Adolescent Sublimation of Victorian Sensation
Authors: Cleere Eileen
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This article argues that what I call the "slow psychology" of adolescence encouraged writers like Maud Hart Lovelace to transform Victorian sensation into serialization, offering young girls in the twentieth century a new temporality of growing up. Featuring an often-banal drama of sublimative experiences, serial stories like Lovelace's provided a modern antidote to old Victorian sensation tales of female psychological degeneration and madness. In Lovelace's fourth installment of her famous Betsy and Tacy series, Downtown (1943), Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Victorian blockbuster Lady Audley's Secret becomes a crucial psychological intertext because it marks and maps all of the psychological dangers of sexual prematurity for teen girls. The feelings and emotions that Lady Audley's Secret ignites in its eleven-year-old girls readers must be exorcised, and Lovelace's novel carefully demonstrates how desire, passion, jealousy, rage, and even depression can be sublimated into family life and into forms of civic participation that allow the girls to vent their dangerous emotions in appropriate public spaces.
Shi‘ites in Aleppo during the Seljuq, Zangid and Ayyūbid Periods (479–658 AH / 1086–1260 CE)
Authors: Alrawadieh Almahdi , Okleh Issam Mustafa
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT: This study aims to provide an overview of Imāmi Shi‘ism in Aleppo province beginning from the rule of the Seljuqs in 479 AH /1086 CE, followed by reign of the Zangids and following them the Ayyūbids until the ending of their rule by the Tatar invasion of Bilād al-Shām (Levant) in 658 AH /1260 CE. We will also attempt to show the nature of the relationship between Shi‘ites and Sunnis and the extent of conflict and dispute between them. The study attempts to outline the impact of the Imāmi Shi‘ites of Aleppo on public, political and scientific life, without focussing on their beliefs and the explanation of their ideas and doctrines, but merely by reference to the sources that have addressed it, and by tracking the comments and works of the most prominent Shi‘ite scholars and senior men of madhhab (doctrine) in Hadith , Fiqh (jurisprudence) and all fields of knowledge during this era.
The Predicament of a Palestinian Hebraist, 1912–1979
Authors: Kahlenberg Caroline
Published: March 2024

Abstract: This essay explores Palestinian Arab knowledge production on Zionism. It focuses on the life of Ribhi Kamal (1912–79), a Palestinian scholar of Semitic languages who grew up in Jerusalem and excelled in modern Hebrew. During the 1948 War, Kamal was exiled to Damascus, where he repurposed his expertise in the service of the Syrian state. Kamal became the host of Radio Damascus’s Hebrew-language broadcast, a propaganda program that called on Jewish Israelis to resist Zionism and return to their “true” home countries. Kamal’s biography and work on Radio Damascus raise several broader questions. What led Arab intellectuals to study Hebrew in the early twentieth century? How did Palestinians employ their pre-1948 knowledge of Hebrew and Zionism in the service of post-1948 Arab governments? And how did Arab governments use radio as a tool of anticolonial propaganda?
Fast volumetric multifocus structured illumination microscopy of subcellular dynamics in living cells
Authors: Senftleben Maximilian Lukas , Bajor Antone , Hirata Eduardo , Abrahamsson Sara , Brismar Hjalmar
Published: March 2024

Studying the nanoscale dynamics of subcellular structures is possible with 2D structured illumination microscopy (SIM). The method allows for acquisition with improved resolution over typical widefield. For 3D samples, the acquisition speed is inherently limited by the need to acquire sequential two-dimensional planes to create a volume. Here, we present a development of multifocus SIM designed to provide high volumetric frame rate by using fast synchronized electro-optical components. We demonstrate the high volumetric imaging capacity of the microscope by recording the dynamics of microtubule and endoplasmatic reticulum in living cells at up to 2.3 super resolution volumes per second for a total volume of 30 × 30 × 1.8 µm3.
Quantitative characterization of micro-scanning imaging aliasing and optical parameter optimization
Authors: Zhang Chao , Ren Fafa , Wang Xiaorui , Li Yangyang , Zhao Zhenshun , Li Yue
Published: March 2024

Imaging aliasing is a common problem in the imaging domain. The aliasing of micro-scanning imaging is difficult to characterize accurately, and the matching relationship between the optical system and micro-scanning sampling is unclear. In this paper, a micro-scanning aliasing analysis model is proposed based on the property of sampling squeeze, in which the transfer functions of the optical system, detector, and digital filter are coupled with the micro-scanning sampling process. First, the imaging aliasing under different micro-scanning sampling modes is evaluated based on the constraint relationship of the transfer functions for each part. The stretch factor of the transfer function under micro-scanning sampling is calculated by utilizing the amount of aliasing. Second, the micro-scanning imaging transfer function under different optical parameters is predicted by the stretch factor, and the results indicate the existence of an optimal F-number that maximizes the micro-scanning performance improvement. Furthermore, the optimal micro-scanning imaging F-numbers for different fill factors are given, and the matching relationship between optical parameters, fill factors and micro-scanning mode is analyzed. Finally, a micro-scanning imaging simulation is performed based on the actual imaging transfer and micro-scanning sampling process. The simulation experiment verifies the accuracy of the micro-scanning aliasing model and gives the consistent test results of the optimal F-number. This paper can provide theoretical support for the matching relationship among micro-scanning imaging parameters, which is of great significance for the refined optimal design of micro-scanning imaging systems.
Single-pixel imaging based on self-supervised conditional mask classifier-free guidance
Authors: Li Qianxi , Yan Qiurong , Dong Jiawei , Feng Jia , Wu Jiaxin , Cao Jianzhong , Liu Guangsen , Wang Hao
Published: March 2024

Reconstructing high-quality images at a low measurement rate is a pivotal objective of Single-Pixel Imaging (SPI). Currently, deep learning methods achieve this by optimizing the loss between the target image and the original image, thereby constraining the potential of low measurement values. We employ conditional probability to ameliorate this, introducing the classifier-free guidance model (CFG) for enhanced reconstruction. We propose a self-supervised conditional masked classifier-free guidance (SCM-CFG) for single-pixel reconstruction. At a 10% measurement rate, SCM-CFG efficiently completed the training task, achieving an average peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of 26.17 dB on the MNIST dataset. This surpasses other methods of photon imaging and computational ghost imaging. It demonstrates remarkable generalization performance. Moreover, thanks to the outstanding design of the conditional mask in this paper, it can significantly enhance the accuracy of reconstructed images through overlay. SCM-CFG achieved a notable improvement of an average of 7.3 dB in overlay processing, in contrast to only a 1 dB improvement in computational ghost imaging. Subsequent physical experiments validated the effectiveness of SCM-CFG.
Sub-Nyquist sampling-based high-frequency photoacoustic computed tomography
Authors: Liu Songde , Zhang Chenxi , Zhang Junyi , Liu Xingyang , Zhu Benpeng , Tian Chao
Published: March 2024

High-frequency (greater than 30 MHz) photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) provides the opportunity to reveal finer details of biological tissues with high spatial resolution. To record photoacoustic signals above 30 MHz, sampling rates higher than 60 MHz are required according to the Nyquist sampling criterion. However, the highest sampling rates supported by existing PACT systems are typically within the range of 40–60 MHz. Herein, we propose a novel PACT imaging method based on sub-Nyquist sampling. The results of numerical simulation, phantom experiment, and in vivo experiment demonstrate that the proposed imaging method can achieve high-frequency PACT imaging with a relatively low sampling rate. An axial resolution of 22 μm is achieved with a 30-MHz transducer and a 41.67-MHz sampling rate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest axial resolution ever achieved in PACT based on a sampling rate of not greater than 60 MHz. This work is expected to provide a practical way for high-frequency PACT imaging with limited sampling rates.
Reciprocally tailored transparent artificial media for frequency and direction dependent light trapping
Authors: Mustafa Meraj E , Eich Manfred , Petrov Alexander Yu.
Published: March 2024

We propose a quasiperiodic leveled-wave structure whose reciprocal space is represented by spherical belt sections, designed to achieve scattering only for the defined wavelength and direction of incident light. At the same time light is scattered only towards directions of k-vectors for which the waves are trapped by total internal reflection in the structured slab. The trapped light is only weakly scattered and thus spends a long time inside the slab and is attenuated by weak absorption in the slab. The incident light of other direction and/or wavelength is transmitted through the slab almost undisturbed. We quantitatively estimated the scattering mean free paths for incident and trapped light from the first-order Born approximation and develop an analytical model which predicts the absorption for a given slab thickness, refractive index contrast and spherical belt parameters. Reducing the refractive index contrast and thickness of the belt, the selectivity can be increased and the absorption contrast for incident light of different wavelengths can reach 70%. We present numerical simulations with absorption contrast of 63% for refractive index contrast of 0.1, which is in good agreement with our analytical model.
Cross-frequency coupling in cortico-hippocampal networks supports the maintenance of sequential auditory information in short-term memory
Authors: Borderie Arthur , Caclin Anne , Lachaux Jean-Philippe , Perrone-Bertollotti Marcela , Hoyer Roxane S. , Kahane Philippe , Catenoix Hélène , Tillmann Barbara , Albouy Philippe
Published: March 2024

It has been suggested that cross-frequency coupling in cortico-hippocampal networks enables the maintenance of multiple visuo-spatial items in working memory. However, whether this mechanism acts as a global neural code for memory retention across sensory modalities remains to be demonstrated. Intracranial EEG data were recorded while drug-resistant patients with epilepsy performed a delayed matched-to-sample task with tone sequences. We manipulated task difficulty by varying the memory load and the duration of the silent retention period between the to-be-compared sequences. We show that the strength of theta-gamma phase amplitude coupling in the superior temporal sulcus, the inferior frontal gyrus, the inferior temporal gyrus, and the hippocampus (i) supports the short-term retention of auditory sequences; (ii) decodes correct and incorrect memory trials as revealed by machine learning analysis; and (iii) is positively correlated with individual short-term memory performance. Specifically, we show that successful task performance is associated with consistent phase coupling in these regions across participants, with gamma bursts restricted to specific theta phase ranges corresponding to higher levels of neural excitability. These findings highlight the role of cortico-hippocampal activity in auditory short-term memory and expand our knowledge about the role of cross-frequency coupling as a global biological mechanism for information processing, integration, and memory in the human brain.
An epigenetic timer regulates the transition from cell division to cell expansion during Arabidopsis petal organogenesis
Authors: Huang Ruirui , Irish Vivian F.
Published: March 2024

A number of studies have demonstrated that epigenetic factors regulate plant developmental timing in response to environmental changes. However, we still have an incomplete view of how epigenetic factors can regulate developmental events such as organogenesis, and the transition from cell division to cell expansion, in plants. The small number of cell types and the relatively simple developmental progression required to form the Arabidopsis petal makes it a good model to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving plant organogenesis. In this study, we investigated how the RABBIT EARS (RBE) transcriptional repressor maintains the downregulation of its downstream direct target, TCP5, long after RBE expression dissipates. We showed that RBE recruits the Groucho/Tup1-like corepressor TOPLESS (TPL) to repress TCP5 transcription in petal primordia. This process involves multiple layers of changes such as remodeling of chromatin accessibility, alteration of RNA polymerase activity, and histone modifications, resulting in an epigenetic memory that is maintained through multiple cell divisions. This memory functions to maintain cell divisions during the early phase of petal development, and its attenuation in a cell division-dependent fashion later in development enables the transition from cell division to cell expansion. Overall, this study unveils a novel mechanism by which the memory of an epigenetic state, and its cell-cycle regulated decay, acts as a timer to precisely control organogenesis.
You must be myths-taken: Examining belief in falsehoods during the COVID-19 health crisis
Authors: Lwin May Oo , Sheldenkar Anita , Tng Pei Ling
Published: March 2024

The prevalence of health myths is increasing with the rise of Internet use. Left unaddressed, online falsehoods can lead to harmful behaviours. In times of crisis, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the circulation of many myths is exacerbated, often to varying degrees among different cultures. Singapore is a multicultural hub in Asia with Western and Asian influences. Although several studies have examined health myths from a Western or Eastern perspective, little research has investigated online health falsehoods in a population that is culturally exposed to both. Furthermore, most studies examined myths cross-sectionally instead of capturing trends in myth prevalence over time, particularly during crisis situations. Given these literature gaps, we investigated popular myths surrounding the recent COVID-19 pandemic within the multicultural setting of Singapore, by examining its general population. We further examined changes in myth beliefs over the two-year period during the pandemic, and population demographic differences in myth beliefs. Using randomised sampling, two online surveys of nationally representative samples of adults (aged 21–70 years) residing in Singapore were conducted, the first between October 2020 and February 2021 (N = 949), and the second between March and April 2022 (N = 1084). Results showed that 12.7% to 57.5% of the population were unable to identify various myths, such as COVID-19 was manmade, and that three of these myths persisted significantly over time (increases ranging from 3.9% to 9.8%). However, belief in myths varied across population demographics, with ethnic minorities (Indians and Malays), females, young adults and those with lower education levels being more susceptible to myths than their counterparts (p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that current debunking efforts are insufficient to effectively counter misinformation beliefs during health crises. Instead, a post-COVID-19 landscape will require targeted approaches aimed at vulnerable population sub-groups, that also focus on the erroneous beliefs with long staying power.