bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Autonomia e dignidade em Kant: o suicídio como violação do "dever pelo dever" e suas novas interpretações no campo da bioética
Authors: Lima Andrei Ferreira de Araújo , Weber Thadeu
Published: September 2021

O filósofo alemão, Immanuel Kant, que preleciona ser autonomia o núcleo da dignidade da pessoa humana, foi categórico ao afirmar que o suicídio viola uma ação do “dever pelo dever”, ou seja, não se trata de uma ação moral perfeita, logo, não universalizável e sem possibilidade de exceções. Porém, essa mesma dignidade fortemente imbricada com a autonomia tem sido alvo de diversos estudos e interpretações no campo da Bioética, notadamente pela corrente “principialista”. Ao buscar soluções práticas para temas como o fim da vida (suicídio, ortotanásia, eutanásia, etc.), diversos autores contemporâneos fundamentam um possível direito à morte com base nos postulados kantianos. Destarte, objetivou-se analisar, a partir do método hipotético-dedutivo, a validade dos argumentos da referida fundamentação, uma vez que Kant, principal referencial teórico, posicionou-se peremptoriamente contrário ao suicídio. Em que pese a aparente contradição, a reinterpretação de autores como Rawls, Dworkin, Beauchamp, Childress, Kress, Hufen, McHaman, et al, a partir do conflito e conformação entre autonomia, dignidade da pessoa humana e direito à vida, parece apresentar uma resposta plausível quanto à existência de um direito à morte, não de forma indiscriminada, mas de forma digna e criteriosa.
O reconhecimento do outro enquanto sujeito de direitos para além do Estado-nação: um estudo acerca do fenômeno migratório frente ao cenário biopolítico
Authors: Hoffmam Fernando , Marques Juciélle Flores
Published: September 2021

A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo o estudo sobre o reconhecimento do outro enquanto sujeito de direitos no Estado-nação, acerca do fenômeno migratório frente ao cenário biopolítico. Devido ao fato de a mobilidade humana transcender as fronteiras, o espaço de ação do migrante questiona os limites e funções do Estado, tanto no que concerne sua recepção ao corpo social, quanto aos requisitos para enquadrar-se enquanto detentor do direito a ter direitos. O espaço do migrante não é o espaço Estatal, mas nele produz diferentes formas de interação e demanda ampliação, redefinindo suas estruturas, o que pressupõe a compreensão da complexidade de relações que o fluxo migratório carrega. Assim, pretende-se analisar a compreensão do migrante enquanto sujeito de direitos perante o cenário biopolítico, e a concretização da universalidade dos Direitos Humanos, frente ao Estado nacionalista.
O controlo do trabalhador em Portugal, à luz do Código do Trabalho português e do Regulamento Geral de Proteção de Dados
Authors: Rodrigues Daniela , Machado Susana Sousa , Azevedo Patrícia Anjos
Published: September 2021

Resumo: O presente contributo versa sobre os meios de vigilância à distância e a sua relação com o tratamento dos dados pessoais dos trabalhadores, com especial relevo na geolocalização e a legitimidade da averiguação da atividade do trabalhador. Desde logo, temos formas de controlo, tais como a tecnologia por radiofrequência; os dados biométricos; o controlo de alcoolemia ou de substâncias psicoativas; o controlo médico no que respeita aos exames complementares e o controlo da utilização de meios eletrónicos, entre outros.O nosso objetivo é, precisamente, apresentar todas estas situações, bem como os limites ao poder de controlo que o empregador possui. É também digna de destaque a matéria do tratamento posterior dos dados pessoais pelo empregador obtidos através dos sistemas de controlo ao seu dispor.Quanto ao método, apresentamos, basicamente, uma revisão de literatura (doutrina), tentando efetuar algumas ligações à lei e a jurisprudência.Como resultados, pretendemos demonstrar que, hoje em dia, com tantos meios ao seu dispor, será fácil que o empregador possa eventualmente colocar em causa dos direitos dos trabalhadores.Concluímos, assim, após o estudo de todas estas matérias, que a relação laboral levanta múltiplas questões no que respeita à aplicabilidade do Regulamento Geral da Proteção de Dados.
Oxy-fuel Combustion Power Cycles: A Sustainable Way to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emission
Authors: Pavithran Anand , Sharma Meeta , Kumar Shukla Anoop
Published: September 2021

The energy generation from the fossil fuels results to emit a tremendousamount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The rise in the atmosphericcarbon dioxide level is the primary reason for global warming and other cli-mate change problems for which energy generation from renewable sourcesis an alternative solution to overcome this problem. However, the renewablessources are not as reliable for the higher amount of energy production andcannot fulfil the world’s energy demand; fossil fuels will continue to beconsumed heavily for the energy generation requirements in the immediatefuture. The only possible solution to overcome the greenhouse gas emissionfrom the power plant is by capturing and storing the carbon dioxide within thepower plants instead of emitting it into the atmosphere. The oxy-fuel combus-tion power cycle with a carbon capture and storage system is an effective wayto minimize emissions from the energy sectors. The oxy-fuel power cycle canreduce 90–99% of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. Moreover,the oxy-fuel power cycles have several advantages over the conventionalpower plants, these include high efficiency, lesser plant footprint, much easiercarbon-capturing processes, etc. Because of these advantages, the oxy-fuel combustion power cycles capture more attention. In the last decades, thenumber of studies has risen exponentially, leading to many experimental anddemonstrational projects under development today. This paper reviews theworks related to oxy-fuel combustion power generation technologies withcarbon capture and storage system. The cycle concepts and the advancementsin this technology have been briefly discussed in this paper.
Response Test of Power Transformer Windings Excited by Nanosecond Pulse
Authors: Liu Xinhe , Hang Wenwu , Wu Haitao
Published: September 2021

At present, the detection of transformer winding deformation in the offlinephase, in order to discover the small transformer winding deformation, real-ize the online monitoring, in this paper, using nanosecond pulse frequencyresponse analysis method, the detection of transformer winding deformationis studied, the results show that the nanosecond pulse frequency responseanalysis method in the detection of transformer winding deformation withhigh reliability and sensitivity.In order to verify the repeatability of themethod, the method was used again at a 30-day interval under the conditionthat the detection environment was basically unchanged. The ρ value was0.9719 in the range of 1 kHz∼1 MHz.
Estate Regeneration and its Discontents
Authors: Watt Paul
Published: September 2021

This book provides a theoretically informed, empirically rich account of the development, causes and consequences of public housing (council/local authority/social) estate regeneration within the context of London’s housing crisis and widening social inequality. It focuses on regeneration schemes involving comprehensive redevelopment – the demolition of council estates and their rebuilding as mixed-tenure neighbourhoods with large numbers of market properties which fuels socio-spatial inequalities via state-led gentrification. The book deploys an interdisciplinary perspective drawn from sociology, geography, urban policy and housing studies. By foregrounding estate residents’ lived experiences – mainly working-class tenants but also working- and middle-class homeowners – it highlights their multiple discontents with the seemingly never-ending regeneration process. As such, the book critiques the imbalances and silences within the official policy discourse in which there are only regeneration winners while the losers are airbrushed out of history. The book contains many illustrations and is based on over a decade of research undertaken at several London council-built estates. The book is divided into three parts. Part One (Chapters 2-4) examines housing policy and urban policy in relation to the expansion and contraction of public housing in London, and the development of estate regeneration. Part Two (Chapters 5-7) analyses residents’ experiences of living at London estates before regeneration begins. It argues that residents positively valued their homes and neighbourhoods, even though such valuation was neither unqualified nor universal. Part Three (Chapters 8-12) examines residents’ experiences of living through regeneration, and argues that comprehensive redevelopment results in degeneration, displacement, and fragmented rather than mixed communities.
Contexts: Empire, politics and culture
Authors: Thompson Paul , Plummer Ken , Demireva Neli
Published: September 2021

This chapter captures something of the changing social, economic and political contexts in which our pioneers researched. This is a generation that published most of their work between the 1950s and 1980s; but often lived during the 1930s onwards. Our earliest pioneer was the anthropologist Raymond Firth, and he is a prime example of working under colonial conditions. The chapter then moves on to the time of the Second World War, the post-war reconstruction, and the creation of the welfare state. Here Peter Townsend serves as a key exemplar. There is a discussion of the spirit of 1968, the emerging feminist revolution (e.g., Ann Oakley) and the growth of cultural studies (e.g., Stuart Hall), migration and Thatcherism. The chapter ends with more recent times: a discussion of how much of this work can feed into contemporary debates of transnationalism and intersectionality.
Organising: creating research worlds
Authors: Thompson Paul , Plummer Ken , Demireva Neli
Published: September 2021

This chapter looks at how social research gradually became organized through the work of our pioneers. It starts by looking at the growth of both universities and academic disciplines (like anthropology and sociology) as key backgrounds for understanding the growth of organized research. A major section discusses a range of early research agencies — the Colonial Research Council, Political and Economic Planning (PEP), the Institute of Community Studies, the CSO (Central Statistical Office), the SSRC, Social Science Research Council, and the UK Data Archive. Some new university-based centres are also considered: medical social science at Aberdeen, methods at Surrey and the BCCS (Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies). There are brief discussions of the Banbury Study with Meg Stacey and Colin Bell; and the Affluent Worker study. The chapter closes with some pioneering work on quantitative research, longitudinal studies and the rise of computing.
The Politics and Ideology of Planning
Authors: Marshall Tim
Published: September 2021

The present time is one of considerable political and ideological turmoil. This affects urban planning, like all areas of public policy. This book sets out to analyse the political and ideological dimensions of planning, focusing on the UK and particularly on England. These have been underplayed or obscured in the past, partly because professional planners have wished to present themselves as apolitical and non-ideological actors. The book proposes that good planning practice will be helped by a more explicit engagement with how planning is affected by political activity and by ideological thinking. The book therefore takes a series of cuts into the subject, starting with a survey of recent planning literature and proceeding to a historical overview of the relationship of planning to ideological currents, including a brief study of one recent UK government. There is then a survey of the main ideological composites active in Britain. There follows a chapter on the relationships between technical work, law and planning, to establish to what degree the political forces allow autonomy for technical skill and the force of legal thinking. Three chapters deal with dimensions of politics and ideology as they operate within government, pressure politics and the media, as well as the place of public deliberation in planning. Two chapters examine different facets and fields of planning, to identify variation across sub-fields of planning work. The final chapter explores some paths to improving the relationship between politics and planning, in current circumstances.
Introducing planning, politics and ideology
Authors: Marshall Tim
Published: September 2021

The field of planning is briefly introduced, and it is argued that the failure of both planning practitioners and planning academics to engage with political and ideological aspects of planning has weakened the response of planners in the face of increasing attacks on planning in recent years. A discussion of the present moment in Britain suggests that this is a good time to engage afresh with these aspects. The chapter introduces relevant ways of analysing politics and ideology, drawing on political science thinking especially. It is argued that keeping the two aspects separate, politics and ideology, can give greater explanatory purchase. A framework is then proposed for how thinking in both these areas can be applied to a range of planning activities and fields.
Fields of planning action: housing, economy and infrastructure
Authors: Marshall Tim
Published: September 2021

Here three core fields of planning activity are analysed, to excavate the political and ideological forces in play in each case. The fields are housing, commercial development (industry, retail, warehousing) and infrastructure (transport, energy). It is argued that central ideological structuring is important in all three fields, given the power of central government financing and regulation in most areas. There is scope nevertheless for the formation of some variation in local political and ideological landscapes. This may affect for example local policies on housing or on welcoming or otherwise of economic development, or policies on retail investment. However this is generally constrained. In each field case examples are given from English localities, including town centre retail schemes, large warehousing projects, highway schemes and power station developments.
Gender expertise and policy analysis
Authors: Cullen Pauline
Published: September 2021

Chapter Fourteen explores gender expertise and policy analysis. To gender policy analysis requires the expertise to apply gender as a variable in the processes that generate policy analysis. A variety of individuals and institutions in society, from academic to women’s policy agencies, provide gender expertise through activities including gender audits, gender budgeting, research and analysis, gender consultation, gender training, and gender assessments. Considering gender expertise permits us to make visible the types of knowledge that qualify as expertise, the conditions under which such knowledge has resonance with policy makers and can claim policy success. Understanding the barriers preventing the successful application of gender equality policies gives insights into how and why gender inequality persists.
Identity and social media
Authors: Bynner John , Heinz Walter R.
Published: September 2021

The chapter examines youth identity from a number of perspectives starting with psychological and sociological conceptualisations of self and identity. From there the discussion moves to the controversy over stages of identity development, identity as a biographical resource and the complexities for occupational identity of digital employment. These observations open up to the more recent issues of identity construction by social networking among young people through which a variety of identities may be expressed. Key themes include self-realisation and its counterpoints in relation to different forms of communication and self-presentation and broader statuses such as digital generational national and European identity. The chapter explores challenges arising from these developments to which the effects of the COVID-19 (corona) virus are an added factor.
Walking in the city: seniors’ experience in Canada and France
Authors: Cloutier Marie-Soleil , Huguenin-Richard Florence
Published: September 2021

This chapter defines mobility in Canada and other Western countries as the ability to move between different activity sites, which tends to decrease past 65 years old for all modes of transportation. It discusses seniors' mobility that is characterized by a decrease in the number of trips and distances travelled to reach those activity sites and worsened by the loss of their driving licence. It also describes walking as an alternative mode of travel to nearby destinations and its promotion is a way to perpetuate seniors' socialization and greater autonomy. The chapter looks at a recent article on accessibility to retail activities in Spain that highlighted the importance of taking into account seniors in mobility planning. It emphasizes that the encouragement to walk should be based on an assessment of the safety and comfort of built urban environments in order to better document the adequacy between the walking environment and the needs and travel habits of elderly pedestrians.
Animating objectivity: a Chicago settlement’s use of numeric and aesthetic knowledges to render its immigrant neighbours and neighbourhood knowable
Authors: Crath Rory
Published: September 2021

This chapter presents findings from archival research and secondary sources from the Chicago Settlement. It argues that it was the aesthetic analysis of the slum that was drawn upon for positioning the evidentiary value of maps. The author suggests that the reformers’ objective in overlaying a numerically based visual technique of calculation with an evocative description of the smells and sounds of the immigrant ‘slum;’ was to permit the assumed public an opportunity to sense the imperative for legal and institutional change necessary for urban renewal.
Historical Contexts and Organising Perspectives
Authors: Bradbury Jonathan
Published: September 2021

This chapter introduces the significance of devolution in the UK. Section one briefly outlines the historical background of the UK state, the nations that have composed it as a territorial union, and previous debates about self-government and devolution. The focus of book is on organising perspectives for understanding devolution as a whole. Section two summarizes and appraises what can be understood as a range of constitutional schools of analysis, and a set of conventional wisdoms. These are: first, the relative empowerment of the identity politics of the UK's stateless nations which made devolution essential; second, the perceived inadequacy of the subsequent devolution settlements viewed from Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and English perspectives; and third, the perceived failure of UK governments to properly address the territorial reform of the state, intergovernmental relations, and the management of devolution. Section three subjects the assumptions inherent in constitutional approaches to critical appraisal and lays the basis for a fresh approach. It argues that the common characteristic of dominant constitutional perspectives is that they have privileged the importance of ideas in the study of politics and have neglected the role of interests and constraints. This has produced disputed analyses between writers who have different ideal starting points, and accounts of what happened that are either limited in coverage or appreciation of what was possible. In considering alternative approaches to study, a case is made for pursuing a realist approach that focuses instead on the power politics underpinning the advent and early implementation of devolution.
Analysing Territorial Politics and Constitutional Policy
Authors: Bradbury Jonathan
Published: September 2021

This chapter outlines the realist neo-Bulpittian conceptual framework, which provides both the categories for analysis that will guide the book's narrative, and the theoretical propositions that guide its analysis. The chapter proceeds in three sections. The first deals with Bulpitt's original approach and theory of UK territorial politics and centre territorial management and how they could be applied to studying territorial politics and the centre's approach to devolution in the 1990s and 2000s. The second section readdresses Rokkan and Urwin (1982) and key themes in the comparative literature to construct a framework for analysing the periphery that is consistent with Bulpitt's approach; it also considers how this framework might be applied to UK territorial politics and territorial movements for change in relation to devolution. The third section then addresses the constitutional policy literature, picking out Benz (2016). He shares Bulpitt's pessimistic assumptions of how solvable state territorial problems really are, while also providing the most clearly elaborated framework for studying the territorial constitutional policy process that we currently have. The conclusion summarises the resulting overall framework and theoretical propositions that will guide the book's analysis.
Iraq 2014–2017: Obama and the Banality of Killing
Authors: Hamourtziadou Lily
Published: September 2021

The 2014-2017 period is explored through discussions on the nature and role of the Islamic State, notions of war and peace, tyranny and democracy, captivity and liberation, in the context of political and security developments. The chapter raises questions regarding the impact of the Islamic State, as well as the impact of the way the coalition has countered the terror. Precision bombing, the Arab Spring, the Islamic State and the rise in civilian deaths are presented as factors contributing to the state of human security in Iraq. As a generation of Iraqis had, by 2017, grown up in occupation, terrorism, insurgency and western support, as the body count rose and national, regional and global security in this War on Terror once again took top position on our security agenda, how was the human security of Iraqis assured by this support?
Black Mothers and Attachment Parenting
Authors: Hamilton Patricia
Published: September 2021

Attachment parenting is an increasingly popular style of childrearing that emphasises natural activities such as extended breastfeeding, bedsharing and babywearing. Such parenting activities are framed as the key to addressing a variety of social ills. Parents choices are thus made deeply significant with the potential to guarantee the well-being of future societies. Examining black mothers' engagements with attachment parenting, the book shows the limitations of this neoliberal approach. Unique in its intersectional analysis of contemporary mothering ideologies, the book fills a gap in the literature on parenting culture studies, drawing on black feminist theorizing to analyse intensive mothering practices and policies.
Mimetic Criminology
Authors: McGregor Rafe
Published: September 2021

Mimetic knowledge is knowledge of everyday reality that is detailed and accurate. The mimetic
value of an exemplary narrative is the extent to which the narrative representation provides knowledge of the world by representing everyday reality in detail and with accuracy. Although exemplary narratives across different modes of representation can provide mimetic knowledge, there is a particularly robust relationship between the cinematic mode of representation and mimetic value as a result of the characteristic realism of the cinematic mode of representation, which is the extent to which cinematic narratives appear to reproduce rather than represent reality. This chapter demonstrates that narrative fictions can be valuable to criminology in this way using two case studies: Michael Mann’s Miami Vice (2006) and Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God (2002).
Uncovering the Politics of Class Actions
Authors: Molavi Michael
Published: September 2021

This chapter offers a deeper look into reforms in England and Wales. It describes the technical language of class actions as civil procedures that uncover the politics and economic interests involved in reform processes. It reviews debates over class action that have been divided along ideological lines, with conservative forces and corporate lobbies seeking to restrict the expansion and delimit the purview of the legal vehicle and progressive forces seeking to introduce and expand their scope. The chapter examines the redistributive feature of class actions and their effectiveness in vindicating the rights of harmed people against largely corporate misbehaviour on a mass scale. It discusses the political and economic interests that have animated discourse and reforms, including the ways in which such interests have perpetuated misconceptions and misinformation about class actions.
Liberty
Authors: Devellennes Charles
Published: September 2021

This chapter deals with the problem of freedom and Spinoza's call for a free state. Freedom is an essential demand of the modern polity and its citizens. No longer content for security from external threats to be the sole concern of the Leviathan, the Spinozist social contract demanded that freedom be the goal of the state. This freedom is the freedom to philosophize, understood as a freedom of physical bodies living in a social world. The bodies demand to be free to express themselves in public, through participation in social life and the ability to express themselves in social movements. Without this freedom, the state is merely a repressive machine, and any attempt to curtail freedom, however limited in scope, typically spreads to the whole social body. Limitations on freedom were first accepted under anti-terror legislation, but they quickly spread to the gilets jaunes and now threaten other activists, or simply those wishing to enjoy public spaces without filling in the required forms. The violence of the bureaucratic state is ever rising, with no end in sight for its totalizing demands. This raises the question of what can be achieved democratically in such as a state.
Nationalism as a Global Institution: A Historical-Sociological View
Authors: Werron Tobias
Published: September 2021

This chapter elaborates how nationalism has long been underestimated in both sociological theory and globalization studies. It mentions sociological theorists who have theorized the role of nationalism in modernity and globalization literature, and who have tended to see globalization and nationalism as being in a zero-sum relationship. It also highlights a historical-sociological perspective on the nationalism–globalization nexus, which allows nationalism to be studied as a global institution. The chapter connects recent insights into inconspicuous 'banal' forms of nationalism to insights from globalization studies. It emphasizes two types of nationalism: 'institutionalized nationalism' and 'scarcity nationalism', showing how they have been reinforced by globalization dynamics and facilitated by the emergence of a global media system.
Traces and Shadows
Authors: Kitchin Rob
Published: September 2021

This chapter charts the transition from an analogue to a digital world, its effect on data footprints and shadows, and the growth of data brokers and government use of data. The World Wide Web (WWW) started to change things by making information accessible across the Internet through an easy-to-use, intuitive graphical interface. Using the Internet, people started leaving digital traces. In their everyday lives, their digital shadows were also growing through the use of debit, credit, and store loyalty cards, and captured in government databases which were increasingly digital. Running tandem to the creation of digital lifestyles was the datafication of everyday life. This was evident in a paper which examined the various ways in which digital data was being generated and tracked using indexical codes about people, but also objects, transactions, interactions, and territories, and how these data were being used to govern people and manage organizations. Today, people live in a world of continuous data production, since smart systems generate data in real time.
Reactionary Tendencies in the Ruling Class
Authors: Timcke Scott
Published: September 2021

This chapter looks at the response of the ruling class to an organic crisis in the United States. With an aim to understand the character of the unfreedom and class rule, the chapter examines the class struggle 'from above'. It describes the Trump administration as a resemblance of Gramsci's description of a Caesarian response to an 'organic crisis', a protracted event which comes about when 'the forces in conflict balance each other in a catastrophic manner', leaving space for a third party to intervene. This chapter demonstrates that there is an intense class war in the United States. Using the term 'organic crisis', Gramsci described a conjecture where a prolonged crisis hinders the relatively effective management of contradictions, while concurrently the maturation of these contradictions makes it exceedingly difficult to defend them. In moments of an organic crisis, factions ramp up their contests to a degree that could be considered an escalation of intra-elite competition. The chapter examines several interlinked events to trace some of the front lines in the escalation of intra-elite competition. As the ruling class's influence traverses all aspects of American society, the consequences of escalating intra-elite competition can be seen in most places. The chapter focuses on the linkages between finance and formal contestations of power. It argues that some analysts simplify the primary lines of division in contemporary class warfare.
Polished photonic crystal fiber refractive index sensor based on surface plasmon resonance
Authors: Zhang Zhiwen , Shen Tao , Wu Haibin , Feng Yue , Wang Xin
Published: September 2021

A polished photonic crystal fiber sensor based on surface plasmon resonance for refractive index (RI) detection is proposed and analyzed by finite element analysis. The design of polishing can greatly increase the birefringence of photonic crystal fiber and ensure a uniform coating film, thus improving sensor performance. The outer air of the structure is arranged in half of an octagonal shape, and the inner layer is arranged in a quadrilateral shape, which can effectively improve coupling strength in the

y

-polarization direction. The sensor works mainly in visible and infrared wavelengths with a detection range of 1.33 to 1.38. Through analysis of external RI changes, pore structure parameters, and silver mold thickness, the maximum sensitivity is 14800 nm/RIU, maximum amplitude sensitivity is

766.7008

R
I
U

−
1

, resolution is up to

6.7568

×

10

−
6

R
I
U

, and maximum figure of merit is 548.1481. The sensor is suitable for biomedicine, environmental monitoring, chemistry, and other fields.
Mode-division multiplexing phase-sensitive amplification for mode selective and mode equalized phase regenerative amplifications
Authors: Ye Baining , Du Jiangbing , Wang Zhaonian , Shen Weihong , Chen Xinyi , Guo Xiaojie , He Zuyuan
Published: September 2021

In this work, mode-division multiplexing (MDM) phase-sensitive amplification (PSA) for all-optical mode selective and mode equalized phase regeneration is presented and investigated. MDM PSA relies on reasonable phase-matching conditions, which makes intramode four-wave mixing in the fiber much stronger than that of cross-mode. It enables multimode signals to interact mainly with the same spatial mode pumps and idlers. Thus, MDM signals can obtain synchronous phase regeneration and avoid cross talk with different mode signals. To achieve this, we designed an appropriate few-mode fiber by an inverse design method based on a neural network for obtaining the desired phase mismatch and low modal dispersion. The results show that effective phase regeneration can be achieved for the degraded 40 Gbit/s binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals. For BPSK signals, error vector magnitudes (EVMs) of the regenerated signal on two modes are reduced from

−

8.013

d
B

and

−

8.068

d
B

to

−

24.867

d
B

, and

−

26.090

d
B

, respectively. For QPSK signals, the EVMs are reduced from

−

16.767

d
B

and

−

16.583

d
B

to

−

24.867

d
B

and

−

24.822

d
B

, respectively.
Structured illumination microscopy with partially coherent illumination for phase and fluorescent imaging
Authors: Wen Kai , Gao ZhaoLin , Fang Xiang , Liu Min , Zheng JuanJuan , Ma Ying , Zalevsky Zeev , Gao Peng
Published: September 2021

This study presents a partially coherent illumination based (PCI-based) SIM apparatus for dual-modality (phase and fluorescent) microscopic imaging. The partially coherent illumination (PCI) is generated by placing a rotating diffuser on a monochromatic laser beam, which suppresses speckle noise in the dual-modality images and endows the apparatus with sound sectioning capability. With this system, label-free quantitative phase and super-resolved/sectioned fluorescent images can be obtained for the same sample. We have demonstrated the superiority of the system in phase imaging of transparent cells with high endogenous contrast and in a quantitative manner. In the meantime, we have also demonstrated fluorescent imaging of fluorescent beads, rat tail crosscut, wheat anther, and hibiscus pollen with super-resolution and optical sectioning. We envisage that the proposed method can be applied to many fields, including but not limited to biomedical, industrial, chemistry fields.
Discretization of two-dimensional Luneburg lens based on the correctional effective medium theory
Authors: Sun Zhiwei , Liu Chao , Xu Ruolei , Gong Heling , Xuan Xiaobo , Liu Run , Du Mingzhu , Cao Hailin
Published: September 2021

The Luneburg lens is widely applied in both the optical and microwave regimes because it offers high gain and a wide beam-scanning range. However, Luneburg lens typically suffer from low efficiency which is caused by the dielectric loss of medium employed. To address this issue, we propose herein a general method for discretization of two-dimensional Luneburg lens based on correctional effective-medium theory. In discrete Luneburg, the efficiency is not dependent on the employed medium roughly because that the main component in the lens is air, resulting into a significant improvement of efficiency. Subsequently, a systemic study of lens discretization is presented, which is validated by a discrete Luneburg lens easily fabricated by using 3D printing. In addition, a novel wave-patch reduction feature allows the discrete lens to function as well. This work presents a fundamental theory for lens discretization, which is valid not only for the Luneburg lens but also for other types of lenses. It can be applied in imaging, antennas, or phase manipulation in both the optical and microwave bands.
Generation of ultra-low jitter radio frequency phase pulses by a phase-locked oscillator
Authors: Diakonov Andrei , Horowitz Moshe
Published: September 2021

We demonstrate a novel, to the best of our knowledge, method for mode locking of an oscillator, which is based on the injection of a strong sinusoidal signal from an external source into the cavity. The oscillator generates a low phase noise carrier signal with a train of ultra-low jitter, short

2
π

phase pulses at a repetition period equal to the cavity round-trip time. Both the carrier signal and phase pulses are phase-locked to the external source. We demonstrate the effect in an optoelectronic oscillator that generates a train of short phase pulses at a high carrier frequency with the broadband spectrum of a dense RF frequency comb. The phase pulses can be converted to short, ultra-low jitter intensity RF pulses by beating the oscillator signal with the external source, used for locking.
Social foraging in vampire bats is predicted by long-term cooperative relationships
Authors: Ripperger Simon P. , Carter Gerald G.
Published: September 2021

Stable social bonds in group-living animals can provide greater access to food. A striking example is that female vampire bats often regurgitate blood to socially bonded kin and nonkin that failed in their nightly hunt. Food-sharing relationships form via preferred associations and social grooming within roosts. However, it remains unclear whether these cooperative relationships extend beyond the roost. To evaluate if long-term cooperative relationships in vampire bats play a role in foraging, we tested if foraging encounters measured by proximity sensors could be explained by wild roosting proximity, kinship, or rates of co-feeding, social grooming, and food sharing during 21 months in captivity. We assessed evidence for 6 hypothetical scenarios of social foraging, ranging from individual to collective hunting. We found that closely bonded female vampire bats departed their roost separately, but often reunited far outside the roost. Repeating foraging encounters were predicted by within-roost association and histories of cooperation in captivity, even when accounting for kinship. Foraging bats demonstrated both affiliative and competitive interactions with different social calls linked to each interaction type. We suggest that social foraging could have implications for social evolution if “local” within-roost cooperation and “global” outside-roost competition enhances fitness interdependence between frequent roostmates.
Blocking HTLV-1/2 silent transmission in Brazil: Current public health policies and proposal for additional strategies
Authors: Rosadas Carolina , Menezes Maria Luiza B. , Galvão-Castro Bernardo , Assone Tatiane , Miranda Angélica E. , Aragón Mayra G. , Caterino-de-Araujo Adele , Taylor Graham P. , Ishak Ricardo
Published: September 2021

Human T-cell lymphotropic viruses 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) are relatively common in Brazil but remain silent and neglected infections. HTLV-1 is associated with a range of diseases with high morbidity and mortality. There is no curative treatment for this lifelong infection, so measures to prevent transmission are essential. This narrative review discusses HTLV-1/2 transmission routes and measures to prevent its continuous dissemination. The public health policies that are currently implemented in Brazil to avoid HTLV-1/2 transmission are addressed, and further strategies are proposed.
Disparities in childhood composite index of anthropometric failure prevalence and determinants across Ethiopian administrative zones
Authors: Fenta Haile Mekonnen , Zewotir Temesgen , Muluneh Essey Kebede
Published: September 2021

Background

The prevalence of under-five children’s undernutrition in Ethiopia is among the highest in the world. This study aimed at exploring the prevalence and risk factors of the composite index for anthropometric failure (CIAF) of under-five children in Ethiopia by incorporating the zonal (district) effects.

Methods

The data was drawn from Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHSs), a population-based cross-sectional study of 29,599 under-five year children from 72 Zones in the years 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2016. Fixed effect variables related to child and maternal-household were included in the model. We adopted a generalized mixed model with CIAF as outcome variable and Zones as random effects.

Results

The prevalence of CIAF in Ethiopia was 53.78% with the highest prevalence of 61.30% in 2000 and the lowest prevalence of 46.58% in 2016. The model result revealed that being a female child, absence of comorbidity, singleton births, and the first order of birth showed significantly lower CIAF prevalence than their counterparts. Among the household characteristics, children from mothers of underweight body mass index, uneducated parents, poor household sanitation, and rural residents were more likely to be undernourished than their counterparts. Based on the best linear unbiased prediction for the zonal-level random effect, significant variations of CIAF among zones were observed.

Conclusion

The generalized linear mixed-effects model results identified gender of the child, size of child at birth, dietary diversity, birth type, place of residence, age of the child, parental level of education, wealth index, sanitation facilities, and media exposure as main drivers of CIAF. Disparities of CIAF were observed between and within the Ethiopian administrative Zones over time.
Effect of potassium fertilizer on the growth, physiological parameters, and water status of Brassica juncea cultivars under different irrigation regimes
Authors: Rani Preeti , Saini Ishan , Singh Narender , Kaushik Prashant , Wijaya Leonard , Al-Barty Amal , Darwish Hadeer , Noureldeen Ahmed
Published: September 2021

Abiotic stress, especially a lack of water, can significantly reduce crop yields. In this study, we evaluated the physiological and biochemical effects of potassium sulfate (K2SO4) fertilizer and varied irrigation regimes on the economically significant oilseed crop, Brassica juncea L, under open field conditions. Two cultivars (RH-725 and RH-749) of B. juncea were used in a randomized complete block design experiment with three replicates. Irrigation regimes consisted of a control (double irrigation: once at the 50% flowering and another at 50% fruiting stages), early irrigation (at 50% flowering only), late irrigation (at 50% fruiting only) and stress (no irrigation). The K2SO4 applications were: control (K0, no fertilization); K1, 10 kg ha−1; and K2, 20 kg ha−1. We measured growth via fresh and dry plant weight, plant height, root length, and leaf area. All the growth parameters were higher in RH-749. The physiological attributes, including the membrane stability index and relative water content, were higher at the 50% flowering stage in RH-749. The amount of antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (POX), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)) was enhanced when both plants were fertilized during water stress. All of these enzymes had higher activity in RH-749. The total chlorophyll content and photosynthesis rate were considerably higher in RH-749, which leaked fewer electrolytes and maintained a less destructive osmotic potential under limited water conditions. The results indicated that it is water-stress tolerant when given a high concentration of K2SO4, which alleviated the adverse effects of water stress on growth and physiology.
Sub-therapeutic vasopressin but not therapeutic vasopressin improves gastrointestinal microcirculation in septic rats: A randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded trial
Authors: Schulz Jan , Bauer Inge , Herminghaus Anna , Picker Olaf , Truse Richard , Vollmer Christian
Published: September 2021

Introduction

Sepsis impairs gastrointestinal microcirculation and it is hypothesized that this might increase patient’s mortality. Sub-therapeutic vasopressin improves gastric microcirculation under physiologic conditions whereas a therapeutic dosing regimen seems to be rather detrimental. However, the effects of sub-therapeutic vasopressin on gastrointestinal microcirculation in sepsis are largely unknown. Therefore, we conducted this trial to investigate the effect of sub-therapeutic as well as therapeutic vasopressin on gastrointestinal microcirculation in sepsis.

Methods

40 male Wistar rats were randomized into 4 groups. Colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP)-surgery was performed to establish mild or moderate sepsis. 24 hours after surgery, animals received either vasopressin with increasing dosages every 30 min (6.75, 13.5 (sub-therapeutic), 27 mU · kg-1 · h-1 (therapeutic)) or vehicle. Microcirculatory oxygenation (μHBO2) of the colon was recorded for 90 min using tissue reflectance spectrophotometry. Intestinal microcirculatory perfusion (total vessel density (TVD; mm/mm2) and perfused vessel density (PVD; mm/mm2)) were measured using incident dark field-Imaging at baseline and after 60 min.

Results

In mild as well as in moderate septic animals with vehicle-infusion intestinal μHbO2, TVD and PVD remained constant. In contrast, in moderate sepsis, sub-therapeutic vasopressin with 13.5 mU · kg-1 · h-1 elevated intestinal μHBO2 (+ 6.1 ± 5.3%; p < 0.05 vs. baseline) and TVD (+ 5.2 ± 3.0 mm/mm2; p < 0.05 vs. baseline). μHBO2, TVD and PVD were significantly increased compared to moderate sepsis alone. However, therapeutic vasopressin did not change intestinal microcirculation. In mild septic animals sub-therapeutic as well as therapeutic vasopressin had no relevant effect on gastrointestinal microcirculation. Systemic blood pressure remained constant in all groups.

Conclusion

Sub-therapeutic vasopressin improves gastrointestinal microcirculatory oxygenation in moderate sepsis without altering systemic blood pressure. This protective effect seems to be mediated by an enhanced microcirculatory perfusion and thereby increased oxygen supply. In contrast, therapeutic vasopressin did not show this beneficial effect.
Nitrogen output in the urban environment using a vegetarian canine diet
Authors: Ingenpaß Lena , Abd El-Wahab Amr , Ullrich Cristina , Kölln Mareike , Ahmed Marwa F. E. , Visscher Christian , Kamphues Josef
Published: September 2021

Pet owners are increasingly concerned about the links between health status, animal welfare, environmental impacts, climate change and consumption of animal products. Accordingly, many owners are increasingly interested in vegetarian diets for themselves and their companion animals. However, such diets should be investigated nutritionally regards digestibility as well as on fecal quality and nitrogen output. In light of this trend, six Beagle dogs were included in a cross-over experimental design and offered a vegetarian diet containing wheat gluten (8.81%), rice protein (8.81%) and sunflower oil (6.84%) or an meat-based diet containing poultry meal (19.5%) and poultry fat (5.23%). The dogs received extruded complete diets for 12 days (adaptation and collection period, each 6 days). The dogs fed both diets showed a high and identical palatability (scoring of food intake) of the experimental diets. No significant differences occurred regarding digestibility of organic matter, crude protein and crude fat between vegetarian and meat-based diets. However, dogs fed the meat-based diet had higher (p < 0.05) nitrogen-free extract digestibility (89.5%) compared to those fed the vegetarian diet (88.6%). The amount of nitrogen excreted in feces (g)/kg BW0.75was slightly, but not significantly, higher for dogs fed the vegetarian diet compared to those fed the meat-based diet (0.88 vs 0.79). The fecal consistency scores were considered to be within an acceptable range (well formed and firm). The mass of the feces between both groups were similar (62.9 g wet feces/100 g dry matter food) for vegetarian and meat-based diets. Additionally, the fecal dry matter content was comparable between both groups (29.0% and 29.6% for vegetarian and meat-based diets, respectively). In conclusion, the results of this study appear to indicate that virtually the only significant difference between the two diets was lower nitrogen-free extract digestibility in the vegetarian diet. However, the vegetarian diet did not result in a significant difference in amount of nitrogen excreted in feces.