bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Neisseria meningitidis genomic diversity to inform outbreak strain identification
Authors: Retchless Adam C. , Chen Alex , Chang How-Yi , Blain Amy E. , McNamara Lucy A. , Mustapha Mustapha M. , Harrison Lee H. , Wang Xin
Published: May 2021

Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening illness caused by the human-restricted bacterium Neisseria meningitidis. Outbreaks in the USA involve at least two cases in an organization or community caused by the same serogroup within three months. Genome comparisons, including phylogenetic analysis and quantification of genome distances can provide confirmatory evidence of pathogen transmission during an outbreak. Interpreting genome distances depends on understanding their distribution both among isolates from outbreaks and among those not from outbreaks. Here, we identify outbreak strains based on phylogenetic relationships among 141 N. meningitidis isolates collected from 28 outbreaks in the USA during 2010–2017 and 1516 non-outbreak isolates collected through contemporaneous meningococcal surveillance. We show that genome distance thresholds based on the maximum SNPs and allele distances among isolates in the phylogenetically defined outbreak strains are sufficient to separate most pairs of non-outbreak isolates into separate strains. Non-outbreak isolate pairs that could not be distinguished from each other based on genetic distances were concentrated in the clonal complexes CC11, CC103, and CC32. Within each of these clonal complexes, phylodynamic analysis identified a group of isolates with extremely low diversity, collected over several years and multiple states. Clusters of isolates with low genetic diversity could indicate increased pathogen transmission, potentially resulting in local outbreaks or nationwide clonal expansions.
Érzelmi hatások a divatjavak fogyasztásában
Authors: Kovács Kármen
Published: May 2021

A szerző elsődleges célja, hogy elméleti áttekintést adjon arról, hogyan befolyásolják az érzelmek a divattermékek fogyasztását, minthogy a divat jelenségét erősen áthatják az emóciók, és a divathoz csatlakozó fogyasztók messze nem racionális döntéseket hoznak; ennek következtében pedig a kínálati oldal szereplőinek a divatjavak iránt megmutatkozó kereslet erős bizonytalanságával kell számolniuk. A tanulmány elsőként általánosságban foglalkozik az érzelmek által vezérelt fogyasztóval, majd elemzi, milyen társadalmi szintű emocionális hatások tartják életben a divat dinamikáját, és számba veszi a divattermékek megvásárlásának motivációit is. A divatjavak vásárlása szempontjából meghatározó, hogy azok a szimbolikus fogyasztás eszközei, tehát valójában az őket birtokló egyének érzelmeit közvetítik. Legvégül a divattal áthatott iparágakban működő vállalatok érzelemorientált marketingstratégiájának néhány fontos elemét emeli ki.
Artificial Intelligence Powered Clinical Trials
Authors: Majie Ankit
Published: May 2021

The future of clinical trials is changing rapidly due to the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to study the clinically significant patterns and algorithms generated upon the input from the trial. The high failure rates in the clinical trials leads to inefficient drug development cycle which increases expenses of the pharmaceutical industry. The technique of artificial intelligence allows the decision makers to study the clinical trials in real life conditions which increases the accuracy of the trials. Thus, decreasing the burden of the pharmaceutical industry and increasing the success rates of the trial. Moreover, clinical trial is a much time-consuming process involving 10-15 years for just one drug molecule with lot of investment. The use clinical trial can reduce the time required for the trial and its investment reduces to one half. With the use of the AI powered clinical trials one drug from every 100 drugs passes this phase easily with genuine results which is much greater than the conventional procedure. Rather the use of clinical trials can help in automated documentation of the clinical trial data under the database of the concerned company be retrieved and accessed very easily. The future of AI will include generation of precision medicine and even prediction of drug resistance in clinical trials.
Ocular fixations modulate audiovisual semantic congruency when standing in an upright position
Authors:   School of Advertising, Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Bogotá, Colombia, Rodríguez-Martínez Guillermo , Castillo-Parra Henry ,   Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de San Buenaventura, Medellín, Colombia, Rosa Pedro J. ,   Lusófona University, Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab (HEI-lab), Lisbon, Portugal,   ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, CIS-IUL, Lisbon, Portugal
Published: May 2021

Introduction: Multisensory audiovisual semantic congruency is the process by which visual information is perceived as integrated to auditory stimuli, because both coincide in terms of simultaneity and semantic correspondence. This study was aimed at establishing whether visual percepts, which semantically correspond to auditory stimuli, are associated with ocular fixations in modulating bottom-up areas while keeping a body posture alignment between the up-direction and the idiotropic axes, as well as in another orientation corresponding to a vectorial opposition between the up-direction and the head idiotropic axis. Method: Two groups (one for each position) were selected from a sample of 88 people. A bistable image was presented on a screen of a fixed 120 Hz eye-tracker device, providing background auditory stimuli so as to establish semantic congruencies and their relations to ocular fixations. Results: It was found that audiovisual semantic congruency is associated with fixations when idiotropic vectors are aligned with the up direction. Fixations manifested in bottom-up modulating areas are not associated with multisensory audiovisual semantic congruency when the head idiotropic vector is parallel with the gravity vector. Eye fixations decrease significantly if the head idiotropic axis is aligned with the gravity vector. Conclusion: It is concluded that body position can affect visual perceptual processes involved in the occurrence of semantic congruency.
Mapas conceituais como instrumentos potencialmente facilitadores de aprendizagem sobre sistemas sanguíneosADORES DA APRENDIZAGEM SIGNIFICATIVA SOBRE SISTEMAS SANGUÍNEOS
Authors: Barbosa Marin Glaucia Rosely , Vinholi Júnior Airton José
Published: May 2021

O presente artigo traz um recorte da dissertação de mestrado que objetivou analisar as contribuições da construção de uma sequência didática com ênfase na produção de jogos digitais para a aprendizagem de conceitos de Genética, subunidade de sistemas sanguíneos. O estudo foi realizado com a participação de estudantes do 3º ano do ensino técnico integrado ao ensino médio de uma escola pública da rede estadual de ensino de Campo Grande-MS, Brasil, com o planejamento de três momentos diferenciados. Os procedimentos metodológicos compreenderam seis etapas distintas e interdependentes, sendo selecionada para este artigo, especificamente, a etapa da elaboração de mapas conceituais construídos antes e após o período de intervenção, com o objetivo de verificar, a partir da análise dos constructos, a evolução conceitual na aprendizagem discente. As representações gráficas demonstraram uma visão integrada dos conteúdos apresentados, segundo a compreensão cognitiva do construtor. Assim, após análise qualitativa e comparativa dos constructos anterior e posterior à intervenção, sob os critérios estabelecidos para este trabalho, foi possível verificar maior habilidade na organização hierárquica presente nos mapas conceituas finais, avaliar o nível significativo de assimilação dos conteúdos e a efetiva evolução conceitual sobre os sistemas sanguíneos.
Climate and Extractive Colonization: The Economic Development of Amur River Basin
Authors:   Economic Research Institute FEB RAS, Ryzhova Natalia , Ryzhov Vsevolod ,   Economic Research Institute FEB RAS
Published: May 2021

The article provides a review of theoretical concepts and empirical studies of the mutual influence of economic development processes and the types of formal and informal institutions constructed. It reveals that in order to explain the phenomenon of long-term stability of reproduction of the gap between theoretically expected and observed economic and social responses to institutional innovations in the Amur River basin, it is reasonable to test the hypothesis of blocking positive return on resources by extractive institutions, and the hypothesis of constant reproduction of extractive nature of institutions under the influence of geographical features of the regional system itself
Finding Most Stable Isobar for Nuclides with Mass Number (165- 175) against Beta Decay
Authors: Ebrahiem Sameera Ahmed , Younis Taghreed A.
Published: May 2021

In the beta decay process, a neutron converts into a proton, or vice versa, so the atom in this process changes to a more stable isobar. Bethe-Weizsäcker used a quasi-experimental formula in the present study to find the most stable isobar for isobaric groups of mass nuclides (A=165-175). In a group of isobars, there are two methods of calculating the most stable isobar. The most stable isobar represents the lowest parabola value by calculating the binding energy value (B.E) for each nuclide in this family, and then drawing these binding energy values as a function of the atomic number (Z) in order to obtain the mass parabolas, the second method is by calculating the atomic number value of the most stable isobar (ZA). The results show that the mass parabolas of isobar elements with an even mass number (A=even) vary from the mass parabolas of isobar elements with an odd mass number (A=odd), In the case of single isobars, it has one parabola, meaning that it has one stable isobar, while we find that the pairs isobars appear to have two parabolas, meaning that it has more than one stable isobar. When we compared the two methods used in this study to determine the most stable isobars, we found that in two techniques for odd isobars, stable isobars are mostly the same nuclide, whereas in suitcases of even isobars with two stable isobars (only one of them are same stable isobars).
New Fabrication (PVA-CMC -PbO) Nanocomposites Structural and Electrical Properties
Authors: Toman Manar S. , Al-nesrawy Sameer Hassan
Published: May 2021

This paper presents the work conducted on preparing (PbO PVA-PEG) nanocomposites through adding the different weight concentrations of lead oxide (0,1,3,5,7 wt%). The structural aspects such as optical microscope, FTIR and electrical features of nanocomposites (PVA-CMC/PbO) were examined. The resulting data shows that the dielectric constant decreased along with the decline of dielectric loss, whereas the frequency value rose while applying of an electric field. As for the electrical conductivity AC, the dielectric loss and dielectric constant of all samples rose along with the increase in lead oxide concentration.
Structure Characteristics of TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtering at Low Pressure
Authors: Ahmed A.S. , Kadim I.H. , Ramadhan A.A.
Published: May 2021

Structural properties of TiO2 thin films play a main role in determine the characteristic of the thin films especially their stability and activity, the total pressure has a great influence in determine the crystallinity of the films and the orientation of the facets of their structure, especially the two facet (101) and (001), the enhancing the structure properties will cause to enhance the application efficiency of TiO2 thin films such as the dissociative adsorption of water and the solar cell. Many researcher interest to prepare the TiO2 thin film under the low range of total pressure (less than to 10 Pa) to avoid the low degree of crystalline and the mixed of two phase anatas and rutile, so in our work tend to prepare TiO2 thin films under a high total pressure (more than 10 Pa) with values (10, 20, 50 and 100) Pa and with (1:1) mixed ratio of Argon and Oxygen gases, the pattern of X-Ray diffraction revealed that the structure was polycrystalline and the phase was anatas. The intensity at 2θ ≈ 25.00°, 37.00°, 53.00° and 55.00° correspond to the diffraction from (101), (004), (105) and (211) planes respectively. The intensity and number of peaks decreased with increased the total pressure, the plane (101) could be considered as a prefential growth plane which take a high texture factor and this would decreased with increased the total pressure, the ratio of texture factor between 001 and 101 will increase with decrease the total pressure, The lattice constant and the interplanar distance displayed a greater deviation compared with the standard value at the lowest total pressure than the decrease observed with increased total pressure.
Determination Radon Concentration (Radon Gas) in Urine of Patients with Cancer
Authors: Asker Mohammed M. , Ali Esam S. , Mohammed Sarwa A.
Published: May 2021

The present study aims at studying the measurement radon concentration (Radon gas) in the urine of patients with cancer, that made up of (23) different samples of patients’ urine. These samples have collected from Kirkuk Oncology & Hematology Center. Chemical etching process for CR-39 track detector has used to record the traces of Alpha particles “alpha rays” or “alpha radiation” that comes from Radon included in the models. The Plastic Tubing – Tubes that contain some models in reagent irradiation process, which shaped as U letter, have been used. The results illustrated that the highest concentration of Radon is (8.9) Bq.m-1 in R14 model, as well as the lowest concentration of Radon is (1.5) Bq.m-1 in R4 model. The Radon levels that have been measured are within the natural limits of radioactive decay caused by radioactive nuclide or “radioactive isotope” in urine of patients with cancer; these are not a risk in humanity.
COVID-19-driven sudden shift to remote teaching: the case of the
Languages for the Community Program at the Universidad Nacional del
Litoral
Authors: Gastaldi María del Valle , Grimaldi Elsa
Published: May 2021

The Languages for the Community Program (LCP), one of the units that
make up the Language Center at Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Santa
Fe, República Argentina, is an extension service provided to people 17 years
of age and older that live in Santa Fe or in neighboring towns, and to UNL
students wishing to take language courses other than those offered in their
own study programs. Since 1999 when they started, these language courses
have been taught in a traditional face-to-face modality. The purpose of this
chapter is to describe the way in which the first term in 2020 had to
suddenly shift to remote teaching and how this shift was devised,
coordinated, delivered, and evaluated in response to the unexpected context
provoked by the outbreak of COVID-19. The chapter also reports the changes
implemented during the second term according to the results of a
satisfaction survey administered to students. Collaborative work, previous
expertise, and methodological principles allowed the staff at LCP to offer a
quality educational response to this paradigm shift in foreign language
teaching and learning.
Remote language teaching in the pandemic context at the University of São
Paulo, Brazil
Authors: Mayrink Mônica Ferreira , Albuquerque-Costa Heloísa , Ferraz Daniel
Published: May 2021

This chapter aims at presenting an overview of how our experiences as
professors of Spanish, French, and English studies at the Department of
Modern Languages (DML) of the University of São Paulo (USP) responded to the
challenges put forward by the pedagogical and technological practices
required since the outbreak of the COVID-19 health crisis, and the adoption
of measures of social isolation in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Our
pedagogical practices are shared through a description of the institutional
context and our students’ narratives. The chapter is divided into three main
sections. The first one presents a brief overview of the institutional
context. The second briefly problematizes the decision-making process to go
fully online, and the challenges of the remote program. Section three
explores the experiences of the three professors and their students by
discussing pedagogical practices and students’ feedback. In conclusion, the
text discusses the lessons learned for future actions.
Stumble or fall? Responses to moving language learning online at Durham
University during the 2020 pandemic
Authors: Critchley Mark
Published: May 2021

This chapter offers a chronological narrative of the steps taken by the
Centre for Foreign Language Study (CFLS) at Durham University to move
language teaching, learning, and assessment online following the
announcement of the global COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. This includes
immediate steps to suspend classroom teaching, a move to online assessments,
preparations for teaching of summer language courses, and steps to convert
existing curricula and teaching materials for online delivery in 2020-2021.
The chapter concludes with some lessons learned, and plans for the
future.
Interrelations between complexity of demographic policy instruments and investment attractiveness at local level – evidence from Poland
Authors: Gerejczyk Katarzyna , Pilewicz Tomasz
Published: May 2021

This paper presents examples of complex instruments oriented toward improvement of demographic situation at local level, represented by communes (local regions in Poland), and identifies links between communes’ investment attractiveness and the level of complexity of the demographic instruments they implement. We performed a multilayer research on 16 communes in Poland. The research encompassed an analysis of communes’ official documents, an electronic audit of their official website portals and Bulletins of Public Information, and structured surveys with official representatives of communes’ authorities. We identified significant differences in communes’ approach toward preparation and implementation of instruments aimed at the improvement of local demographic variables. Those differences depend on the level of potential investment attractiveness represented by a given commune. We have distinguished communes which are leading, following, or performing moderately when it comes to giving importance to demographic challenges in public policy discourse. Case studies presented in this paper and the proposed typology of communes constitute a rudimentary catalogue of possible communes’ responses to demographic challenges. The presented tools can be used by the local authorities to raise the potential investment attractiveness of their region and support them in policy making.
Pansu–Wulff shapes in ℍ1
Authors: Pozuelo Julián , Ritoré Manuel
Published: May 2021

We consider an asymmetric left-invariant norm

∥
⋅

∥
K

{\|\cdot\|_{K}}

in the first Heisenberg group

ℍ
1

{\mathbb{H}^{1}}

induced by a convex body

K
⊂

ℝ
2

{K\subset\mathbb{R}^{2}}

containing the origin in its interior. Associated to

∥
⋅

∥
K

{\|\cdot\|_{K}}

there is a perimeter functional, that coincides with the classical sub-Riemannian perimeter in case K is the closed unit disk centered at the origin of

ℝ
2

{{\mathbb{R}}^{2}}

. Under the assumption that K has

C
2

{C^{2}}

boundary with strictly positive geodesic curvature we compute the first variation formula of perimeter for sets with

C
2

{C^{2}}

boundary. The localization of the variational formula in the non-singular part of the boundary, composed of the points where the tangent plane is not horizontal, allows us to define a mean curvature function

H
K

{H_{K}}

out of the singular set. In the case of non-vanishing mean curvature, the condition that

H
K

{H_{K}}

be constant implies that the non-singular portion of the boundary is foliated by horizontal liftings of translations of

∂
⁡
K

{\partial K}

dilated by a factor of

1

H
K

{\frac{1}{H_{K}}}

. Based on this we can define a sphere

𝕊
K

{\mathbb{S}_{K}}

with constant mean curvature 1 by considering the union of all horizontal liftings of

∂
⁡
K

{\partial K}

starting from

(
0
,
0
,
0
)

{(0,0,0)}

until they meet again in a point of the vertical axis. We give some geometric properties of this sphere and, moreover, we prove that, up to non-homogeneous dilations and left-translations, they are the only solutions of the sub-Finsler isoperimetric problem in a restricted class of sets.
Mass Concentration and Asymptotic Uniqueness of Ground State for 3-Component BEC with External Potential in ℝ2
Authors: Kong Yuzhen , Wang Qingxuan , Zhao Dun
Published: May 2021

We investigate the ground states of 3-component Bose–Einstein condensates with harmonic-like trapping potentials in

ℝ
2

{\mathbb{R}^{2}}

, where the intra-component interactions

μ
i

{\mu_{i}}

and the inter-component interactions

β

i
⁢
j

=

β

j
⁢
i

{\beta_{ij}=\beta_{ji}}

(

i
,
j

=
1

,

2
,
3

{i,j=1,2,3}

,

i
≠
j

{i\neq j}

) are all attractive. We display the regions of

μ
i

{\mu_{i}}

and

β

i
⁢
j

{\beta_{ij}}

for the existence and nonexistence of the ground states, and give an elaborate analysis for the asymptotic behavior of the ground states as

β

i
⁢
j

↗

β

i
⁢
j

*

:=

a
∗

+

1
2

⁢

(

a
∗

-

μ
i

)

⁢

(

a
∗

-

μ
j

)

{\beta_{ij}\nearrow\beta_{ij}^{*}:=a^{\ast}+\frac{1}{2}\sqrt{{(a^{\ast}-\mu_{i% })(a^{\ast}-\mu_{j})}}}

, where

0
<

μ
i

<

a
∗

:=

∥
w
∥

2
2

{0<\mu_{i}<a^{\ast}:=\|w\|_{2}^{2}}

are fixed and w is the unique positive solution of

Δ
⁢
w

-
w

+

w
3

=
0

{\Delta w-w+w^{3}=0}

in

H
1

⁢

(

ℝ
2

)

{H^{1}(\mathbb{R}^{2})}

. The energy estimation as well as the mass concentration phenomena are studied, and when two of the intra-component interactions are equal, the nondegeneracy and the uniqueness of the ground states are proved.
Antihyperglycemic effect and phytochemical investigation of Rubia cordifolia (Indian Madder) leaves extract
Authors: Khan Muhammad Shafiq , Aziz Shahid , Khan Muhammad Zakryya , Khalid Zafar Mahmood , Riaz Muhammad , Ahmed Dawood , Ali Iftikhar , Arif Nazia , Wang Deiji , Ahmad Muhammad Sheeraz , Zahid Nafeesa
Published: May 2021

Medicinal plants are used as an important source of medicines in pharmaceutical industry. Rubia cordifolia is widely used to cure diabetes mellitus. Present study was aimed to investigate the antihyperglycemic effects of different fractions of R. cordifolia leaves and to analyze its antioxidant effect and phytochemical composition. Male albino mice were randomly distributed into seven groups (n = 7). Group-I was normal control, group-II was Alloxan (100 mg/kg)-induced diabetic control, and group-III was standard drug (Glibenclamide 0.5 mg/kg)-treated group. Animals in groups IV–VII were treated with n-hexane fraction, ethyl acetate fraction, n-butanol fraction and aqueous fraction of R. cordifolia, orally administered (100 mg/kg) once daily up to 28 days after Alloxan induction, respectively. Methanolic extract (ME) and fractions of R. cordifilia were analyzed for antioxidant activity and quantification of total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. HPLC of ME and most active fractions were performed. The results showed that RCEF (G-V) and RCBF (G-VI) have significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the increased level of glucose as compared to toxicant control group. It was further revealed that EF and BF have higher antioxidant activity (having IC50 34.9, 36.86 (µg/mL)) owing to phenolic and flavonoid identified by HPLC.
Mosque design strategy for energy and water saving
Authors: Harsritanto Bangun Indrakusumo Radityo , Nugroho Satrio , Dewanta Favian , Prabowo Aditya Rio
Published: May 2021

The built environment plays an essential role as a climate change agent. Natural resource exploitation, energy consumptions, and waste management need to be built for more environment-friendly. The Mosque is a religious building built in every space on earth since a quarter of the world population is Muslim. This situation brought an urgency for making Mosques more sustainable and friendly to the natural environment. Carrying these facts, this study aimed to suggest a design strategy for making a sustainable mosque. Through a collaboration of passive design strategy, present technologies work of literature, and a study case, this study shortlisted primary design strategies in (1) building layouts, (2) lighting strategy, (3) HVAC strategy, (4) water conservation strategy, and (5) IT strategy. By keeping these major design strategies, Mosques can be made more environmentally sustainable. Several design recommendations are suggested in each major design strategy that may bring help for making sustainable Mosque on every space on this earth.
A nonseparable invariant extension of Lebesgue measure – A generalized and abstract approach
Authors: Basu Sanjib , Sen Debasish
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we use some methods of combinatorial set theory, in particular, the ones related to the construction of independent families of sets and also some modified version of the notion of small sets originally introduced by Riečan and Neubrunn, to give an abstract and generalized formulation of a remarkable theorem of Kakutani and Oxtoby related to a nonseparable invariant extension of the Lebesgue measure in spaces with transformation groups.
Association between vitamin D level and prognostic factors among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Haghighi Mehrdad , Ebadi Seyed Shayan , Soleimantabar Hussein , Shadkam Atefe , Ebadi Seyed Alireza , Afzali Hasan
Published: May 2021

Objectives

The present study aimed to evaluate the presence of any relationship between vitamin D and prognostic factors among patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among patients admitted from March to August 2020 in a referral hospital, Tehran, Iran. All patients aged 18–65 who had not any comorbidity participated in the study. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was established using the rRT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Then the incidence of lung involvement and biochemical markers including vitamin D level, c-reactive protein, D-dimer, lymphocyte count, platelet count, white blood cell count, and lactic acid dehydrogenase, were extracted through medical records.

Results

Altogether, 84 patients met our study criteria, and the information of 68 (80.9%) participants were collected. Among all 68 patients, 45 (66.2%) were male. The mean (SD) age of all participants was 52.4 (10.4) years old. Among 24 (35.2%) clients who died due to SARS-CoV-2, 20 (83.3%) patients were male (p=0.02). The mean (SD) of vitamin D level was 24.1 (13.6) ng/dL. No association between vitamin D level and prognostic factors, including CRP, lymphocyte count, D-dimer, LDH, and HRCT scan score, was observed. Also, the vitamin D level of the dead patients was not significantly different from that of the treated patients.

Conclusions

Our findings indicated no significant relationship between vitamin D level and prognostic factors or outcomes of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Revocable attribute-based proxy re-encryption
Authors: Luo Fucai , Al-Kuwari Saif
Published: May 2021

Attribute-based proxy re-encryption (ABPRE), which combines the notions of proxy re-encryption (PRE) and attribute-based encryption (ABE), allows a semi-trusted proxy with re-encryption key to transform a ciphertext under a particular access policy into a ciphertext under another access policy, without revealing any information about the underlying plaintext. This primitive is very useful in applications where encrypted data need to be stored in untrusted environments, such as cloud storage. In many practical applications, and in order to address scenarios where users misbehave or the re-encryption keys are compromised, an efficient revocation mechanism is necessary for ABPRE. Previously, revocation mechanism was considered in the settings of identity-based encryption (IBE), ABE, predicate encryption (PE), and broadcast PRE, but not ABPRE, which is what we set to do in this paper. We first formalize the concept of revocable ABPRE and its security model. Then, we propose a lattice-based instantiation of revocable ABPRE. Our scheme not only supports an efficient revocation mechanism but also supports polynomial-depth policy circuits and has short private keys, where the size of the keys is dependent only on the depth of the supported policy circuits. In addition, we prove that our scheme is selectively chosen-plaintext attack (CPA) secure in the standard model, based on the learning with errors assumption.
On the Physical Background of Nerve Pulse Propagation: Heat and Energy
Authors: Peets Tanel , Tamm Kert , Engelbrecht Jüri
Published: May 2021

Recent studies have revealed the complex structure of nerve signals in axons. Besides the electrical signal, mechanical and thermal effects are also detected in many experimental studies. In this paper, the mathematical models of heat generation are analysed within the framework of a general model derived earlier by the authors. The main mechanisms of heat generation are seemingly Joule heating and endo- and exothermic reactions. The concept of internal variables permits to model the heat relaxation typical to these reactions. The general energy balance of the whole signal is analysed based on physical mechanisms responsible for emerging the components of a signal which constitutes a wave ensemble. The novelty of this study is in describing the energy for all the components of the wave ensemble. Some open questions are listed for further studies.
Optimization and validation of a procedure for the determination of tritium in gaseous effluents from nuclear power plants
Authors: Štrok Marko , Svetek Barbara
Published: May 2021

The optimization and validation of a procedure for the determination of tritium from gaseous effluents from a nuclear power plant is described. Optimization included performance assessment of silica gel and a molecular sieve as a material for the adsorption of water moisture from air for continuous tritium sampling. In addition, the usability of such a system for monitoring tritium in laboratory air for low-level tritium measurements was assessed. The molecular sieve showed better performance, with an average desorption efficiency of 95% compared to 78% achieved with silica gel. The memory effect was also lower and more reproducible for the molecular sieve, amounting to 7% on average compared to 35% attained for silica gel. Measurement of low-level tritium in air showed the importance of prior checks of intrinsic tritium levels in the molecular sieve as due to that erroneous results could be produced.
Cell Type-Specific Decrease of the Intrinsic Excitability of Motor Cortical Pyramidal Neurons in Parkinsonism
Authors: Chen Liqiang , Daniels Samuel , Kim Yerim , Chu Hong-Yuan
Published: May 2021

The hypokinetic motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) are closely linked with a decreased motor cortical output as a consequence of elevated basal ganglia inhibition. However, whether and how the loss of dopamine (DA) alters the cellular properties of motor cortical neurons in PD remains undefined. We induced parkinsonism in adult C57BL/6 mice of both sexes by injecting neurotoxin, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), into the medial forebrain bundle. By usingex vivopatch-clamp recording and retrograde tracing approach, we found that the intrinsic excitability of pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) in the primary motor cortical (M1) layer (L)5b was greatly decreased in parkinsonism; but the intratelencephalic neurons (ITNs) were not affected. The cell type-specific intrinsic adaptations were associated with a depolarized threshold and broadened width of action potentials (APs) in PTNs. Moreover, the loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons impaired the capability of M1 PTNs to sustain high-frequency firing, which could underlie their abnormal pattern of activity in the parkinsonian state. We also showed that the decreased excitability in parkinsonism was caused by an impaired function of both persistent sodium channels and the large conductance, Ca2+-activated K+channels. Acute activation of dopaminergic receptors failed to rescue the impaired intrinsic excitability of M1 PTNs in parkinsonian mice. Altogether, our data demonstrated a cell type-specific decrease of the excitability of M1 pyramidal neurons in parkinsonism. Thus, intrinsic adaptations in the motor cortex provide novel insight in our understanding of the pathophysiology of motor deficits in PD.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) remodels the connectivity and function of cortico–basal ganglia–thalamocortical network. However, whether and how dopaminergic degeneration and the associated basal ganglia dysfunction alter motor cortical circuitry remain undefined. We found that pyramidal neurons in the layer (L)5b of the primary motor cortex (M1) exhibit distinct adaptations in response to the loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons, depending on their long-range projections. Besides the decreased thalamocortical synaptic excitation as proposed by the classical model of Parkinson's pathophysiology, these results, for the first time, show novel cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the abnormal motor cortical output in parkinsonism.
Region-Specific and State-Dependent Astrocyte Ca2+Dynamics during the Sleep-Wake Cycle in Mice
Authors: Tsunematsu Tomomi , Sakata Shuzo , Sanagi Tomomi , Tanaka Kenji F. , Matsui Ko
Published: May 2021

Neural activity is diverse, and varies depending on brain regions and sleep/wakefulness states. However, whether astrocyte activity differs between sleep/wakefulness states, and whether there are differences in astrocyte activity among brain regions remain poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, we recorded astrocyte intracellular calcium (Ca2+) concentrations of mice during sleep/wakefulness states in the cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and pons using fiber photometry. For this purpose, male transgenic mice expressing the genetically encoded ratiometric Ca2+sensor YCnano50 specifically in their astrocytes were used. We demonstrated that Ca2+levels in astrocytes substantially decrease during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and increase after the onset of wakefulness. In contrast, differences in Ca2+levels during non-REM (NREM) sleep were observed among the different brain regions, and no significant decrease was observed in the hypothalamus and pons. Further analyses focusing on the transition between sleep/wakefulness states and correlation analysis with the duration of REM sleep showed that Ca2+dynamics differs among brain regions, suggesting the existence of several clusters, i.e., the first comprising the cortex and hippocampus, the second comprising the hypothalamus and pons, and the third comprising the cerebellum. Our study thus demonstrated that astrocyte Ca2+levels change substantially according to sleep/wakefulness states. These changes were consistent in general unlike neural activity. However, we also clarified that Ca2+dynamics varies depending on the brain region, implying that astrocytes may play various physiological roles in sleep.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTSleep is an instinctive behavior of many organisms. In the previous five decades, the mechanism of the neural circuits controlling sleep/wakefulness states and the neural activities associated with sleep/wakefulness states in various brain regions have been elucidated. However, whether astrocytes, which are a type of glial cell, change their activity during different sleep/wakefulness states was poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated that dynamic changes in astrocyte Ca2+concentrations occur in the cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and pons of mice during natural sleep. Further analyses demonstrated that Ca2+dynamics slightly differ among different brain regions, implying that the physiological roles of astrocytes in sleep/wakefulness might vary depending on the brain region.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Crisis of the Liberal International Order: Geopolitical Fissures and Pathways to Change
Authors: Babić Milan
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerates and exacerbates many preexisting tendencies in the global political economy. Consequently, the crisis of the liberal international order (LIO), which has been ongoing for several years, is also being affected by the pandemic. These effects are, however, not uniform: some aspects of the crisis of the LIO, as a multidimensional phenomenon, are under more pressure than others. In this article, I detail these varied effects with a specific focus on questions of geopolitics and hegemonic change. I argue that especially the societal level, where socioeconomic distortions and popular discontent are long-existing drivers of crisis, will be severely hit by the social and economic fallout of the pandemic. I conclude by suggesting a set of hypotheses regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the crisis of the LIO that can be tested once more data becomes available.
Why Ranting about the COVID-19 Economy as a Woman Sounds Different in Copenhagen and in Cincinnati
Authors: Spendzharova Aneta
Published: May 2021

Before the covid-19 pandemic, significant advances have been made in the advanced industrialized economies toward greater gender equality in the workplace, especially since the 1990s. However, the first year of the pandemic has led to dramatic backsliding in gender equality even among countries that have adopted sizeable relief packages to combat the devastating economic effects of the pandemic. This commentary argues that the pandemic has reinforced existing vulnerabilities in IPE. The essay takes stock of government economic support measures in selected OECD economies. It then compares the government responses in two representative cases with very different welfare state legacies—Denmark as a case representative of the Nordic welfare state model and the USA as a case representative of the liberal welfare state model. The main finding is that the Nordic welfare state model has been more successful in protecting vulnerable social groups, such as women, in times of severe crisis. The contrast is especially visible if we compare the performance of Denmark in terms of maintaining female labor force participation during the pandemic with that of the USA, where women as a social group have been set back decades in terms of exit from the formal labor market as well as loss of job and career opportunities.
La construcción de la normalidad en la sexualidad contemporánea
Authors: Soto Heredero Clara
Published: May 2021

En el presente artículo se realiza una genealogía crítica de la sexualidad. Este asunto es el punto de partida para reflexionar acerca de cómo se está construyendo el imaginario colectivo sexual en la actualidad y cuáles son los aparatos de verificación que lo están legitimando. Partiendo del análisis de la obra Michel Foucault, principalmente de ‘Historia de la sexualidad’, por Judith Butler y Paul B. Preciado, entre otros; se busca la arqueología de la normalidad en el ámbito de la sexualidad, sus límites y hasta qué punto este concepto es una realidad puramente biológica o una construcción social.En base a lo anteriormente expuesto, este trabajo se sitúa en el contexto del postporno, como un espacio político y filosófico en el que realizar una exploración profunda sobre el género, el sexo, la sexualidad y la representación sexual. Un espacio libre en el que se pueden cuestionar, trabajar y reestructurar estos términos.
Gender mainstreaming in the European Union development policy: the Tunisian case.
Authors: Sanz Ventín Sonia
Published: May 2021

This paper examines gender mainstreaming in the European Union development policy to Tunisia. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the way in which Gender Mainstreaming is included in the European Union Development polity in a strategic country such as Tunisia. In doing this, I will examine to which extent the Gender Mainstreaming integration is genuinely achieving its aim of transforming unequal gender relations.  The first section of the paper develops the theoretical frame. The second section explains the research methodology. The third section explains the research results showing how the European Union has overlooked a unique opportunity that would has given the chance to integrate Gender Mainstreaming in the post-revolution European Union development policy, into the national public policies and lastly, in establishing a more inclusive dialogue with an embryonic civil society and mature feminist movement. The paper concludes with the hope that this study will serve to guide and promote, in first place, a real integration of a transformative gender mainstreaming in the EU development policy and in second place, to boost the EU role as promoter of possible national reforms which will enable the implementation of transformative gender mainstreaming in national policies breaking once for all with the artificial neutrality of public policies.
Sublingual epidermoid cyst: unusual diagnosis in Otorhinolaringology
Authors: Marcos Hugo , Soares Santos Tiago , Gonçalves Paulo , Gonçalves Débora , Carvalho Guilherme , Miranda Vera , Carvalho Carlos
Published: May 2021

Dermoid and epidermoid cysts are rare in the head and neck, specially in the oral cavity, accounting for 1.6 %. It represents an even smaller percentage of all the oral cysts, less than 0.01%. Usually asymptomatic, however, occasionally, obstructive symptoms like dysphagia or speech difficulties are found. We present a case of a 32 years old female patient with a sublingual epidermoid cyst. The patient was referred to our ENT department with complaints of an oral mass, speech difficulties and solid food dysphagia for 1 month. Physical examination revealed a well circumscribed symmetrical mass on the floor of the mouth with no inflammatory signs, tender and fluctuant on palpation. Computed tomography (CT) was requested. CT scan showed a sublingual cystic mass inferiorly limited by the mylohyoid muscle. Aspiration was performed to improve symptoms until surgery. The liquid that resulted from aspiration showed a granulated white cheesy material. Enucleation of the cyst was performed intraorally in the operating room. Histopathologic investigation confirmed the diagnosis of epidermoid cyst. The patient fully recovered and there was no recurrence. Although rare, cases like this exist. There are several differential diagnoses and a high level of suspicion is necessary for a correct workup, diagnosis and follow-up. Surgical excision is usually necessary and curative.
Effect of shrimp fortification level on nutritional value, cooking quality and microstructure of freeze-dried noodles
Authors: Yerlikaya P. , Tokay F.G. , Alp A.C. , Cilay S.
Published: May 2021

A product with increased quality and nutritional value can be developed by enriching noodles with shrimp meat (SM). The formulation of noodle dough was supplemented with SM (10, 20 and 30% w/w). The noodles were freeze-dried due to the susceptibility of added SM to spoilage. Water activity values of all samples were below 0.35. The highest protein (19.37 ± 1.04%), lipid (39.30 ± 1.69%), moisture (6.31 ± 0.42%) and energy (571.14 ± 10.16 kcal/100 g) contents were determined in noodles with 30% shrimp meat content (30S). Carbohydrate value of noodles decreased with the SM fortification level. Cooking quality characteristics of SM added noodles, especially 10S, were better in terms of weight gain, volume increase and cooking loss. The highest L* and b* values, which are expected to be high by the consumers, were reached with 10S and 30S, respectively. The value of a* increased with the addition of SM. Hardness, cohesiveness and chewiness values of the noodles increased with an increase in the level of shrimp content. Addition of SM improved the microstructure of noodles due to enriched protein matrix. Nutritious noodles with high cooking quality and a potential for long shelf life are intended for athletes and individuals with special nutritional needs.
Spain’s Valley of the Fallen, Where Human Remains Disappear
Authors: Vila Laia , Solé Barjau Queralt
Published: May 2021

This paper reflects on the Franco dictatorship's ideological use of the bodies of Spanish Civil War dead at the Valle de los Caídos (Valley of the Fallen) monument near Madrid. It examines how from 1958 onwards human remains were exhumed from cemeteries and mass graves across Spain and reinterred at the site, and it argues that, much like the setting and architecture of the memorial complex itself, they were used politically to make a distinction in Spain's national memory between the war's winners and losers. This served as the foundation for the necropolitical legitimacy of the Franco regime.
Primeiras comunidades cristãs sob o olhar da Hermenêutica dos Espaços
Authors: Bósio Frederico Danielle Lucy
Published: May 2021

As comunidades primitivas realizavam os seus encontros comunitários em casas e isso é um fato. Outro fato é que não é incomum imaginarmos as casas do primeiro século como as que residimos hoje. Essa maneira de entendermos os fatos é um anacronismo, pois está fora do tempo, isto é, uma leitura descontextualizada. Uma pergunta simples deveria ser feita ao lermos e/ou pensarmos sobre esse tema: em que tipo de casas eles se reuniam? Como eram as casas daquela época? Haviam outros lugares em que esses cristãos poderiam se reunir? Partindo do pressuposto de que haviam vários espaços nesse mundo antigo que seriam propícios aos encontros dessas comunidades e de que é preciso ampliar a nossa percepção sobre o tema a fim de que novas possiblidades surjam; utilizaremos a Hermenêutica dos Espaços e revistaremos alguns lugares. Nosso objetivo é identificar novas possiblidades e reconhecer a fluidez desse mundo outro e tão rico em que nasceram as primeiras comunidades cristãs.
Involvement of Serum Uric Acid in Essential Hypertension, Progressive Proteinuria and Impairment in Renal Function among Type-2 Diabetic Patients
Authors: KMA Aziz
Published: May 2021

Type-2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder with vast complications. Uric acid (UA) was recently discovered as a risk biomarker for the development of type-2 diabetes. Several studies have found a significant association of Hyperuricemia with Hypertension (HTN), renal complications and cardiovascular disease. However, no study has found an association of hyperuricemia with the development of essential hypertension, nephropathy and Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD) among type-2 diabetics. Moreover, in the past no study has found cut off points for serum uric acids for the development of DKD/CKD among diabetics with sensitivity and specificity, which was achieved in the current study. We collected 10,300 type-2 diabetics data for more than 15 years in a cross sectional retrospective manner. 17% demonstrated hyperuricemia while 16% were found to be DKD. Significant correlations were found between serum UA and other variables (serum creatinine, systolic and diastolic BP, microalbumin and spot urine protein). Levels of UA were observed to be elevated among patients with HTN, nephropathy and DKD (p<0.0001). Similarly, serum creatinine, systolic and diastolic BP, microalbuminuria and spot urine protein were higher for the group with hyperuricemia (p<0.0001). Pearson’s (χ²) and logistic regression with odds ratio demonstrated that hyperuricemia was significantly associated with HTN (odds ratio 2.5; 95% CI 1.8 to 23.4; p<0.0001). Similarly, hyperuricemia was significantly associated with the development of nephropathy and DKD/CKD; odds ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.46 to 2.8; p<0.0001) and 27.3 (95% CI 14 to 53; p<0.0001), respectively. Moreover, regression model between serum UA and serum creatinine was also significantly associated with each other and proves our hypothesis that UA linearly causes an increase in the blood creatinine with the following relationship : Serum creatinine=0.221 + [0.154 × serum UA]. ROC for DKD and serum UA demonstrated that with AUC of 0.98 (95% CI 0.961 to 0.986), UA level of 6.8 was 91% sensitive and 79% specific for the development and significant association with DKD/CKD (p<0.0001). This is the first study of its kind that has demonstrated significant associations of UA with HTN, nephropathy and DKD. It is the time to revise the normal levels of UA among type-2 diabetics and to initiate regular screening for hyperuricemia to prevent further diabetes complications.