bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Progresividad de los derechos humanos de la población carcelaria en Colombia en la pandemia: análisis del Decreto 546 de 2020
Authors: Abril Rincón Anggie Paola , Libreros Duque Daniel Alberto , Perilla Sanclemente Jaime Alberto , Santafé Jaimes Mariana , Marín Ospina Pedro Pablo
Published: April 2024

La pandemia causada por el covid-19 generó una afectación a nivel mundial en múltiples ámbitos (económico, social, político, de salud, entre otros), haciendo que los Estados se vieran obligados a tomar medidas necesarias para frenar la propagación de este virus. Colombia no fue la excepción y, debido a ello, el gobierno nacional adoptó diferentes políticas para hacer frente a la emergencia sanitaria. Dentro de estas se expidió el Decreto Legislativo 546 de 2020, el cual buscó atender la vulnerabilidad de las personas privadas de la libertad dado el estado de cosas inconstitucional en el que se encuentra el sistema carcelario. Esta ponencia sostiene que las medidas para mitigar los efectos del covid-19 dentro de los centros penitenciarios y carcelarios significaron un avance en la protección y cobertura de los derechos humanos de la población privada de la libertad. Por lo tanto, a la luz de la teoría de la progresividad de los derechos humanos, dichas medidas deben mantenerse a pesar de que la gravedad de las circunstancias que las originaron no persista.
Measuring the Quality of Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Ellahie Atif , Hshieh Shenje , Zhang Feng
Published: April 2024

We develop a measure of merger and acquisition (M&A) quality using accounting theory. This measure, implied return-on-equity improvement (IRI), quantifies the minimum improvement in the target’s post-acquisition return on equity (ROE) the acquirer must attain to break even on the acquisition price. Employing a large sample of M&As from 1980 to 2018, we find that a high IRI is, on average, less attainable ex post and predicts worse acquirer financial performance. The acquirer’s ROE growth over the first three years after the M&A is 11 percentage points lower for high-IRI M&As compared with low-IRI M&As. Worse high-IRI acquirer performance is observable through higher operating costs, tighter financial constraints, lower investments, and larger and more frequent goodwill impairments. We also find that IRI increases with acquiring chief executive officers’ overconfidence, incentive misalignment, and difficulty in estimating synergies; IRI decreases with acquirers’ financial discipline and due diligence effort. As such, overestimating synergies and managerial incentives that drive overpayment are potential mechanisms underlying IRI’s negative association with acquirers’ post-M&A performance.

This paper was accepted by Eric So, accounting.

Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01225 .
Diagonalizably realizable implies universally realizable
Authors: Marijuán Carlos , Soto Ricardo L.
Published: April 2024

A spectrum $\Lambda=\{\lambda_{1},\ldots,\lambda_{n}\}$ of complex numbers is said to be realizable if it is the spectrum of an entrywise nonnegative matrix $A$. The spectrum $\Lambda$ is diagonalizably realizable ($\mathcal{DR}$) if the realizing matrix $A$ is diagonalizable, and $\Lambda$ is universally realizable ($\mathcal{UR}$) if it is realizable for each possible Jordan canonical form allowed by $\Lambda.$ In 1981, Minc proved that if $\Lambda$ is the spectrum of a diagonalizable positive matrix, then $\Lambda$ is universally realizable. One of the main open questions about the problem of universal realizability of spectra iswhether $\mathcal{DR}$ implies $\mathcal{UR}$. Here, we prove a surprisingly simple result, which shows how diagonalizably realizable implies universally realizable.
NOT LOSING ONE CM OF MUSCLE CIRCUMFERENCE DURING EXTENSIVE BONE LENGTHENING: A PACT WITH THE DEVIL OR THE ANGELS?
Authors: Guichet Jean-Marc , Frigerio Silvia
Published: April 2024

Introduction

A 6cm femoral gain requires 5-Y during normal growth, but only 6–8-W surgically (x30–40 faster). In lengthening surgery, losses of muscle force (MF) and circumferences (MC) are major. Recovery is long, preventing sports till bone fusion.

Can we maintain MC and strength throughout the entire lengthening and how?

We monitored for over 30 years patients for muscle force (isokinetic), circumferences, activities (including sports) and food intake, and acted on the 5 principles of the Osteostasis.

Materials & Methods

Over 750 femoral lengthening with Full WB Nails (FWBN) got Isokinetic testing (≧1991), circumferences measurements (≧2012; 20-15-10-5-0cm above patella, max-calf, mini/max-ankle), food intake (≧2012), using MyFitnessPal App (≧2016), gradually enforced. Preoperative training along with a daily post-operative training are supervised by our trainers. Recommendations for food intake and activities were provided. Patients noted on a specific App all parameters. Compliance was noted.

Results

Instead of a traditional 7–9cm circumference loss for 8–10cm gains using Ex-fix or nails, with FWBN and our protocols, no MC loss could be noted in compliant pre-trained patients, intensive early post-op resistance training, high calory intake (M:>4200, F:>3000; 20–25% Proteins) and supplements (no fat pad increase). Bone fusion could be obtained at the end of lengthening or within short weeks (Healing Index down to 8D/cm)

Non-compliant patients (or using morphine), lost weight and MC.

Conclusions

Increasing by 8–10cm muscle length, even bilaterally, and maintaining MC during lengthening, is possible, with very fast bone fusion. It requires building up several hundred of grams of muscles.

The ‘building up equation’ associating resistance bike from the early post-operative phase with sports, strong food intake with increased protein intake, and added supplements with no morphine medication, proved to boost circumferences and bone fusion. It induced fast recovery, walking and sports capacities.
CAN WE DECREASE THE HEALING INDEX (HI) DOWN TO EIGHT TO 12 DAYS/CM? AND HOW?
Authors: Guichet Jean-Marc
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Frame HI is the #Days for device removal/cm. IM Nail HI is less relevant (31–45 D/cm).

Albizzia HI was 33 D/cm (1991–2003). Patients felt fine approximately 1M after end of lengthening (EoL), resuming normal life and sports. This sometimes resulted in implants fractures (e.g. skying before bone fusion). Ideally, the full fusion should occur at the EoL. We decided to shorten the HI to reach this target, optimising all parameters.

Materials & Methods

The evolution of care has been monitored over a 32-year clinical experience with a fully weight-bearing nails (Albizzia then G-nail). Monitoring was with X-rays, DEXA, blood bone activity, and in London with special 5G CBCT Scans. We implemented several changes in the Care of patients and measured them according to the ‘Five Principles’ (stability, function, ‘Roads-vascular supply’, ‘Materials-calories’ and ‘Workers-BFC’, with actions on food intake, activity levels and on muscle and bone vascular growths.

Results

Preop: training (vascularity, muscle force).

Op & Postop: spine morphine, IM sawing preserving BFC, controlled hypo-pressure, low hydration, 50 cm leg elevation, walking, resistance bike, full motion (drainage, muscle reactivation), discharge 3–4h postop (including bilateral). Postop daily intense gym training.

POD07-21: Distraction increased to fight non-linear hyper-ossification (44–50 mm gain at POD30) +/- aided by NSAIDs.

HI decreased to 12–20D/cm, sometimes 8D/cm with some ‘soft fusion’ during lengthening, hardening within 1W after EoL.

Conclusions

The surgeon is not a passive X-rays observer, but has an active role in changing the healing speed and decreasing HI for patient safety. Electro/Magnetic nails (torque 1 Nm) may be clocked by bone fusion, which does not occur with the G-Nail (19 Nm).

An holistic vision for patients and treatments at several levels is essential to accelerate bone healing, and to return fast to full normal life, after a short ‘lengthening parenthesis’.
THE BIGGER, THE BETTER? TWO-RING CIRCULAR FRAMES AND DURATION OF TREATMENT IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TIBIAL FRACTURES: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY
Authors: Hodkinson Thomas , Groom William , Souroullas Panos , Moulder Elizabeth , Muir Ross , Sharma Hemant
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Frame configuration for the management of complex tibial fractures is highly variable and is dependent not only on fracture pattern and soft tissue condition but also surgeon preference. The optimal number of rings to use when designing a frame remains uncertain. Traditionally, larger, stiffer constructs with multiple rings per segment were thought to offer optimal conditions for bone healing, however, the concept of reverse dynamisation questions this approach.

Materials & Methods

We compared clinical outcomes in 302 consecutive patients with tibial fractures treated in our unit with either a two-ring circular frame or a three-or-more-ring (3+) frame. The primary outcome measure was time spent in frame. Secondary outcomes were the incidence of malunion and the need for further surgical procedures to achieve bone union. The groups were evenly matched for age, co-morbidities, energy of injury mechanism, fracture classification, post-treatment alignment and presence of an open fracture.

Results

The mean time in frame was 168 days for the 2-ring group and 200 days for the 3+ rings group (p=0.003). No significant difference was found in the rate of malunion (p=0.428) or the requirement for secondary surgical intervention to achieve union (p=0.363). No significant difference in time in frame was found between individual surgeons.

Conclusions

This study finds that 2-ring frame constructs are a reliable option associated with significantly shorter duration of treatment and no increase in rates of adverse outcomes compared with larger, more complex frame configurations. Although this study cannot identify the underlying cause of the difference in treatment time between frame designs, it is possible that differences in mechanical stability lead to a more favourable strain environment for fracture healing in the 2-ring group.
THE SU-PERIOSTEUM: IMPROVING BONE BIOLOGY USING NOVEL CHIMERIC FIBULA-PERIOSTEAL FLAP
Authors: Bandopadhyay Gagori , Lo Steven , Yonjan Indira , Rose Anna , Roditi Giles , Drury Colin , Maclean Angus
Published: April 2024

Introduction

The presence of pluripotent mesenchymal cells in the periosteum along with the growth factors produced or released following injury provides this tissue with an important role in bone healing. Utilising this property, vascularised periosteal flaps may increase the union rates in recalcitrant atrophic long bone non-union. The novel chimeric fibula-periosteal flap utilises the periosteum raised on an independent periosteal vessel, thus allowing the periosteum to be inset freely around the osteotomy site, improving bone biology.

Materials & Methods

Ten patients, with established non-union, underwent fibula-periosteal chimeric flaps (2016–2022) at the Canniesburn Plastic Surgery Unit, UK. Preoperative CT angiography was performed to identify the periosteal branches. A case-control approach was used. Patients acted as their own controls, which obviated patient specific risks for non-union. One osteotomy site was covered by the chimeric periosteal flap and one without. In two patients both the osteotomies were covered using a long periosteal flap.

Results

Union rate of 100% (11/11) was noted with periosteal flap osteotomies, versus those without flaps at 28.6% (2/7) (p = 0.0025). Time to union was also reduced in the periosteal flaps at 8.5 months versus 16.75 months in the control group (p = 0.023). Survival curves with a hazard ratio of 4.1, equating to a 4 times higher chance of union with periosteal flaps (log-rank p = 0.0016) was observed.

Conclusions

The chimeric fibula-periosteal flap provides an option for atrophic recalcitrant non-unions where use of vascularised fibula graft alone may not provide an adequate biological environment for consolidation.
MIDFOOT CHARCOT ARTHROPATHY: BUTT FRAME CORRECTION FOLLOWED BY BEAMING FOR SEVERE DEFORMITY
Authors: Duguid A , Ankers T , Narayan B , Fischer B , Giotakis N. , Harrison W
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Charcot neuroarthropathy is a limb threatening condition and the optimal surgical strategy for limb salvage in gross foot deformity remains unclear. We present our experience of using fine wire frames to correct severe midfoot deformity, followed by internal beaming to maintain the correction.

Materials and Methods

Nine patients underwent this treatment between 2020–2023. Initial deformity correction by Ilizarov or hexapod butt frame was followed by internal beaming with a mean follow up of 11 months. A retrospective analysis of radiographs and electronic records was performed. Meary's angle, calcaneal pitch, cuboid height, hindfoot midfoot angle and AP Meary's angle were compared throughout treatment. Complications, length of stay and the number of operations are also described.

Results

Mean age was 53 years (range:40–59). Mean frame duration was 3.3 months before conversion to beaming. Prior frame-assisted deformity correction resulted in consistently improved radiological parameters. Varying degrees of subsequent collapse were universal, but 5 patients still regained mobility and a stable, plantargrade, ulcer-free foot. Complications were common, including hardware migration (N=6,66%), breakage (N=2,22%), loosening (N=3,33%), infection (N=4,44%), 1 amputation and an unscheduled reoperation rate of 55%. Mean cumulative length of stay was 42 days.

Conclusions

Aggressive deformity correction and internal fixation for Charcot arthropathy requires strategic and individualised care plans. Complications are expected for each patient. Patients must understand this is a limb salvage scenario. This management strategy is resource heavy and requires timely interventions at each stage with a well-structured MDT delivering care. The departmental learning points are to be discussed.
Detection method of micro and macro scale defects in silicon carbide castings
Authors: Wang Jinyang , Chen Jingjing , Shen Haiping
Published: April 2024

Aiming at challenges such as low efficiency, high missing rate, difficulty in identifying contour defects, and difficulty in extracting tiny defects, a defect detection method for extracting micro and macro scale defects is proposed in this paper. After preprocessing the image, contour detection is performed to identify the contours. Subsequently, a contour complementation algorithm is employed to complement the unclosed contours. Finally, the detection of micro scale defects is conducted based on the grayscale variation of the center of the micro scale defects. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional method, the proposed algorithm can accurately detect the bubble defects of different scales in silicon carbide castings and can identify the complex defects better.
High energy laser propagation through natural convection of air: a benchmark for validation of numerical simulation
Authors: Fiordilino Joseph , Sweitzer-Siojo Shannon , Vo Tam , Mays Joseph , King Daniel
Published: April 2024

The study of propagation medium effects on lasers continues to be an active area of research. High energy laser (HEL) propagation through planetary atmosphere is particularly nuanced as the beam generates its own flow field and suffers from additional degrading effects. Herein, we construct experimental setups conducive to probing the physics of the laser-atmosphere interaction and generating validation datasets for high fidelity predictive software. Measured and derived parameters are presented, and predictive models are generated utilizing random forest regression.
Process and optical modeling of black silicon
Authors: Sanchez-Plaza Guillermo , Urquia Alfonso
Published: April 2024

Black silicon is relevant for the photovoltaic industry when searching for low-reflectance, low-defect front surface, which is the goal of this work. We have fabricated samples using reactive ion etching (RIE) plus chemical etching for the smoothing, characterized them, and built modeling tools capable of reproducing the resulting geometric features, based on the process parameters. Reflectance is simulated using a proprietary rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA)-based tool, and compared with the experimental results. A good matching was achieved using a simple unit cell, and a better agreement when using a 0.5 square microns sample. Finally, an optimum trade-off between low reflectance and low thickness has been achieved.
ATN-Res2Unet: an advanced deep learning network for the elimination of saturation artifacts in endoscopy optical coherence tomography
Authors: Zhao Yongfu , Kong Ruiming , Ma Fei , Qi Sumin , Dai Cuixia , Meng Jing
Published: April 2024

Endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) possesses the capability to non-invasively image internal lumens; however, it is susceptible to saturation artifacts arising from robust reflective structures. In this study, we introduce an innovative deep learning network, ATN-Res2Unet, designed to mitigate saturation artifacts in endoscopic OCT images. This is achieved through the integration of multi-scale perception, multi-attention mechanisms, and frequency domain filters. To address the challenge of obtaining ground truth in endoscopic OCT, we propose a method for constructing training data pairs. Experimental in vivo data substantiates the effectiveness of ATN-Res2Unet in reducing diverse artifacts while preserving structural information. Comparative analysis with prior studies reveals a notable enhancement, with average quantitative indicators increasing by 45.4–83.8%. Significantly, this study marks the inaugural exploration of leveraging deep learning to eradicate artifacts from endoscopic OCT images, presenting considerable potential for clinical applications.
Time-gated imaging through dense fog via physics-driven Swin transformer
Authors: Jin Shaohui , Xu Ziqin , Xu Mingliang , Liu Hao
Published: April 2024

Imaging through the fog is valuable for many areas, such as autonomous driving and cosmic exploration. However, due to the influence of strong backscattering and diffuse reflection generated by the dense fog on the temporal-spatial correlations of photons returning from the target object, the reconstruction quality of most existing methods is significantly reduced under dense fog conditions. In this study, we describe the optical scatter imaging process and propose a physics-driven Swin Transformer method utilizing Time-of-Flight (ToF) and Deep Learning principles to mitigate scattering effects and reconstruct targets in conditions of heterogeneous dense fog. The results suggest that, despite the exponential decrease in the number of ballistic photons as the optical thickness of fog increases, the Physics-Driven Swin Transformer method demonstrates satisfactory performance in imaging targets obscured by dense fog. Importantly, this article highlights that even in dense fog imaging experiments with optical thickness reaching up to 3.0, which exceeds previous studies, commonly utilized quantitative evaluation metrics like PSNR and SSIM indicate that our method is cutting-edge in imaging through dense fog.
Enhanced performance of thermally activated delayed fluorescent light emitting diodes by optimized host polarity
Authors: Sun Yingying , Xu Zijie , Wang Yongqiang , Niu Ziying , Xu Zhenjiang , Li Shuhong , Wang Wenjun , Liu Yunlong
Published: April 2024

The interaction between the intrinsic polarity of the host material and the TADF guest material affects charge injection and transport, exciton formation, charge recombination, and emission mechanisms. Therefore, understanding and controlling the interaction between the intrinsic polarity of the host material and the TADF guest material is very important to realize efficient TADF-OLED devices. This study investigated the molecular interaction between different polar host materials and a thermally activated delayed fluorescence material (DMAc-PPM). It has been found that interaction between the host and guest (π-π stacking interaction, multiple CH/π contacts) greatly influence the molecular transition dipole moment orientation of the guest. And the OLED devices based on the strong polar host (DPEPO) exhibited the highest EQEmax and lowest luminescence intensity, while devices using the weaker polar hosts mCP and CBP achieved higher luminance and lower EQEmax. Then, the strong polar host DPEPO was mixed with the weaker polar hosts CBP and mCP, respectively. The devices prepared based on the mixed-host DPEPO: mCP showed a 2.2 times improvement in EQEmax from 6.3% to 20.1% compared to the single-host mCP. The devices prepared based on the mixed-host DPEPO: CBP showed a 3.1 times improvement in luminance intensity from 1023 cd/m2 to 4236 cd/m2 compared to the single host of DPEPO. This suggests that optimizing the polarity of host materials has the potential to enhance the performance of solution prepared OLED devices.
Defocus-integration interferometric scattering microscopy for speckle suppression and enhancing nanoparticle detection on a substrate
Authors: Jiao Nanfang , Lin Shupei , Feng Delong , He Yong , Chen Xue-Wen
Published: April 2024

Direct optical detection and imaging of single nanoparticles on a substrate in wide field underpin vast applications across different research fields. However, speckles originating from the unavoidable random surface undulations of the substrate ultimately limit the size of the decipherable nanoparticles by the current optical techniques, including the ultrasensitive interferometric scattering microscopy (iSCAT). Here, we report a defocus-integration iSCAT to suppress the speckle noise and to enhance the detection and imaging of single nanoparticles on an ultra-flat glass substrate and a silicon wafer. In particular, we discover distinct symmetry properties of the scattering phase between the nanoparticle and the surface undulations that cause the speckles. Consequently, we develop the defocus-integration technique to suppress the speckles. We experimentally achieve an enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio by 6.9 dB for the nanoparticle detection. We demonstrate that the technique is generally applicable for nanoparticles of various materials and for both low and high refractive index substrates.
Enabling endogenous distributed acoustic sensing in a digital subcarrier coherent transmission system
Authors: Hu Zihe , Zhang Mingming , Li Yuqi , Chen Junda , Li Weihao , Xiong Yuxuan , Zhao Luming , Zhao Can , Tang Ming
Published: April 2024

To monitor the health of the fiber network and its ambient environment in densely populated access/metro network areas, in this Letter, an endogenous distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) has been proposed and achieved in a coherent digital subcarrier multiplexing (DSCM) system. Rather than specially allocating a sensing probe in general integrated communication and sensing schemes, the fractional Fourier transformed (FrFT) training sequence (TS) designated for time/frequency synchronization in DSCM coherent communications has been repurposed for sensing. While achieving excellent synchronization performance of communication, the FrFT-based TS can also be concurrently utilized to perform distributed vibration sensing. Experimental results demonstrate that the FrFT-based timing/frequency synchronization sequence is repurposed to achieve a DAS sensitivity of 70 pε/Hz at a spatial resolution of 5 m, along with 100-Gb/s 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) DSCM transmission, without a loss of spectral efficiency.
Mode-locked large-mode-area Er/Yb-doped fiber oscillator via nonlinear polarization evolution with enhanced mode suppression
Authors: Chen Xinzhou , Zhang Hong , Liu Cuiling , Chen Xiting , Guo Chunyu , Yan Peiguang , Ouyang Deqin , Zhang Hui , Wang Jinzhang
Published: April 2024

We report a mode-locked Er/Yb-doped large-mode-area (LMA) fiber oscillator based on nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE), which utilizes a linear cavity primarily composed of polarization-maintaining (PM) fibers. The oscillator operates at 1.56 µm with a fundamental repetition rate of 34.47 MHz and has two output ports. One port can deliver high-quality soliton-like pulses with a pulse duration of 325 fs and an average power of 39.5 mW (corresponding to a pulse energy of 1.15 nJ). In contrast, the other port not only generates lower-quality complex pulses but also exhibits poorer short-term and long-term stability, likely due to cross-phase modulation effects. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first implementation of the NPE mode-locked technology in a PM-LMA Er/Yb-doped fiber oscillator at 1.55 µm which often suffers from poor self-starting mode-locking capabilities. This achievement is primarily attributed to the use of endlessly single-mode photonic crystal fibers, which effectively suppress higher-order modes in PM-LMA fibers.
Pulling force enabled by unlocking the optical phase
Authors: Kiselev Andrei , Achouri Karim , Zavatski Siarhei , Martin Olivier
Published: April 2024

We demonstrate a possibility of achieving an optical pulling force without complex beam-shaping techniques. By using optical pulses detuned from the resonant frequency of the structure, we create conditions where the spectral maxima of the excited current and of the incident field do not match. Therefore, the phase shift between the two, which controls the optical force, becomes time-dependent, thus enabling unexpected optical effects. Particularly, it is shown that tuning the central frequency of the pulse produces a temporal pulling force directed towards the illumination source.
Lytic bacteriophages induce the secretion of antiviral and proinflammatory cytokines from human respiratory epithelial cells
Authors: Zamora Paula F. , Reidy Thomas G. , Armbruster Catherine R. , Sun Ming , Van Tyne Daria , Turner Paul E. , Koff Jonathan L. , Bomberger Jennifer M.
Published: April 2024

Phage therapy is a therapeutic approach to treat multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections that employs lytic bacteriophages (phages) to eliminate bacteria. Despite the abundant evidence for its success as an antimicrobial in Eastern Europe, there is scarce data regarding its effects on the human host. Here, we aimed to understand how lytic phages interact with cells of the airway epithelium, the tissue site that is colonized by bacterial biofilms in numerous chronic respiratory disorders. Using a panel of Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages and human airway epithelial cells (AECs) derived from a person with cystic fibrosis (CF), we determined that interactions between phages and epithelial cells depend on specific phage properties as well as physiochemical features of the microenvironment. Although poor at internalizing phages, the airway epithelium responds to phage exposure by changing its transcriptional profile and secreting antiviral and proinflammatory cytokines that correlate with specific phage families. Overall, our findings indicate that mammalian responses to phages are heterogenous and could potentially alter the way that respiratory local defenses aid in bacterial clearance during phage therapy. Thus, besides phage receptor specificity in a particular bacterial isolate, the criteria to select lytic phages for therapy should be expanded to include mammalian cell responses.
Identification of predictive patient characteristics for assessing the probability of COVID-19 in-hospital mortality
Authors: Rajwa Bartek , Naved Md Mobasshir Arshed , Adibuzzaman Mohammad , Grama Ananth Y. , Khan Babar A. , Dundar M. Murat , Rochet Jean-Christophe
Published: April 2024

As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to understand patient factors that may be used to predict the occurrence of severe cases and patient mortality. Approximately 20% of SARS-CoV-2 infections lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by the harmful actions of inflammatory mediators. Patients with severe COVID-19 are often afflicted with neurologic symptoms, and individuals with pre-existing neurodegenerative disease have an increased risk of severe COVID-19. Although collectively, these observations point to a bidirectional relationship between severe COVID-19 and neurologic disorders, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Here, we analyzed the electronic health records of 471 patients with severe COVID-19 to identify clinical characteristics most predictive of mortality. Feature discovery was conducted by training a regularized logistic regression classifier that serves as a machine-learning model with an embedded feature selection capability. SHAP analysis using the trained classifier revealed that a small ensemble of readily observable clinical features, including characteristics associated with cognitive impairment, could predict in-hospital mortality with an accuracy greater than 0.85 (expressed as the area under the ROC curve of the classifier). These findings have important implications for the prioritization of clinical measures used to identify patients with COVID-19 (and, potentially, other forms of acute respiratory distress syndrome) having an elevated risk of death.
Collective search in ants: Movement determines footprints, and footprints influence movement
Authors: Popp Stefan , Dornhaus Anna
Published: April 2024

Collectively searching animals might be expected to coordinate with their groupmates to cover ground more evenly or efficiently than uncoordinated groups. Communication can lead to coordination in many ways. Previous work in ants suggests that chemical ‘footprints’, left behind by individuals as they walk, might serve this function by modulating the movement patterns of following ants. Here, we test this hypothesis by considering the two predictions that, first, ants may turn away from sites with higher footprint concentrations (klinotaxis), or, second, that they may change their turning patterns depending on the presence of footprints (klinokinesis). We tracked 5 whole colonies of Temnothorax rugatulus ants in a large arena over 5h. We approximated the footprint concentration by summing ant visitations for each point in the arena and calculated the speed and local path straightness for each point of the ant trajectories. We counterintuitively find that ants walk slightly faster and straighter in areas with fewer footprints. This is partially explained by the effect that ants who start out from the nest walking straighter move on average further away from the nest, where there are naturally fewer footprints, leading to an apparent relationship between footprint density and straightness However, ants walk slightly faster and straighter off footprints even when controlling for this effect. We tested for klinotaxis by calculating the footprint concentrations perceived by the left and right antennae of ants and found no evidence for a turning-away (nor turning-towards) behavior. Instead, we found noticeable effects of environmental idiosyncrasies on the behavior of ants which are likely to overpower any reactions to pheromones. Our results indicate that search density around an ant colony is affected by several independent processes, including individual differences in movement pattern, local spatial heterogeneities, and ants’ reactions to chemical footprints. The multitude of effects illustrates that non-communicative coordination, individual biases and interactions with the environment might have a greater impact on group search efficiency and exploratory movements than pheromone communication.
Type II and IV toxin-antitoxin systems coordinately stabilize the integrative and conjugative element of the ICESa2603 family conferring multiple drug resistance in Streptococcus suis
Authors: Gu Qibing , Zhu Xiayu , Yu Yong , Jiang Tao , Pan Zihao , Ma Jiale , Yao Huochun
Published: April 2024

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) play a vital role in bacterial evolution by carrying essential genes that confer adaptive functions to the host. Despite their importance, the mechanism underlying the stable inheritance of ICEs, which is necessary for the acquisition of new traits in bacteria, remains poorly understood. Here, we identified SezAT, a type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) system, and AbiE, a type IV TA system encoded within the ICESsuHN105, coordinately promote ICE stabilization and mediate multidrug resistance in Streptococcus suis. Deletion of SezAT or AbiE did not affect the strain’s antibiotic susceptibility, but their duple deletion increased susceptibility, mainly mediated by the antitoxins SezA and AbiEi. Further studies have revealed that SezA and AbiEi affect the genetic stability of ICESsuHN105 by moderating the excision and extrachromosomal copy number, consequently affecting the antibiotic resistance conferred by ICE. The DNA-binding proteins AbiEi and SezA, which bind palindromic sequences in the promoter, coordinately modulate ICE excision and extracellular copy number by binding to sequences in the origin-of-transfer (oriT) and the attL sites, respectively. Furthermore, AbiEi negatively regulates the transcription of SezAT by binding directly to its promoter, optimizing the coordinate network of SezAT and AbiE in maintaining ICESsuHN105 stability. Importantly, SezAT and AbiE are widespread and conserved in ICEs harbouring diverse drug-resistance genes, and their coordinated effects in promoting ICE stability and mediating drug resistance may be broadly applicable to other ICEs. Altogether, our study uncovers the TA system’s role in maintaining the genetic stability of ICE and offers potential targets for overcoming the dissemination and evolution of drug resistance.
Halil Altındere’s Space Refugee: Martian Modernism, Syrian Resettlement, and Life After Climate Change
Authors: Winter Rachel
Published: April 2024

Halil Altındere proposes in his video Space Refugee (2016) that Syrian refugees resettle on Mars to escape the dire environmental and political circumstances of Earth. Through a visual analysis of the Martian landscapes and built environments featured in Altındere’s video, I examine how the artist evokes the overlapping visual languages and rhetorical devices used to frame the construction of real and imagined cities in the UAE and on Mars. I argue that Altındere’s Martian landscape brings together features of Gulf modernism in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with elements of historical Islamicate architectures to imagine a Martian modernism that subverts repressive conditions on earth and offers social transformation. I theorize and contextualize Altındere’s vision of a utopian Martian life for Syrian refugees through the framework of Martian modernism. This critical lens elucidates how the visual features, living conditions, and ideological motivations of the future imagined in Space Refugee are shaped by and respond to intersecting histories of modernity, coloniality, architectural development, extraterrestrial exploration, science fiction, and climate change.
Szeged 16. századi szandzsákbégjei
Authors: Fóti Miklós
Published: April 2024

This study aims to compile a list of the sancakbeyis of Szeged in the 16th century, primarily using Turkish archival sources, which could serve as a resource for historians. However, the goal of the work is not just to present pure archonotolgical data: we attempted to figure out the governors’ family backgrounds, including their affiliations with the influential clans of Ottoman Hungary; significant details of their history of land ownership, which could help identifying people with shared given names (Mahmud, Ali, etc.); as well as finding their posts before and after their tenure in Szeged, and thus learning how their careers developed. By examining the archontological data about the Ottoman senior officials we can further our understanding of other aspects of the political system of Ottoman Hungary: information about their appointment and career can reveal the ambitions of the beyes and their descendants to gain positions and found their own dynasties after having conquered the Kingdom of Hungary. We can also learn about the life of the sancak of Szeged under Ottoman occupation through the careers of its beyes, an important example being the relocation of its seat to Bács.
„…fő nélkül csak egy nap sem jó volna azt a földet hadni”
Authors: Borbély Zoltán
Published: April 2024

The military defence of the northeastern part of the country, known at the time as Upper Hungary, was operated in the 17th century through the system of captaincies under the Hofkriegsrat (Imperial War Council). This region was not only threatened by constant Ottoman raids, but also by the growing ambitions of the princes of Transylvania, which were often supported by the gentry class of the area. At the same time the political significance of counties had grown significantly, as well as the power of the wealthy gentry, who just started finding their political identity. Therefore the position of the captain-general of Upper Hungary was always a role where finding a balance between the goals of the monarch and the interests of the county nobles was a primary political consideration, unlike in the captaincies of the western part of the country. At the same time the military defence system also had to be maintained, and only after addressing all these issues could the captain-general try to realise his own ambitions, or improve the status of his family. This essay analyses János Drugeth de Homonna’s tenure as captai-general to showcase the unique characteristics of the captaincy of Upper Hungary.
Navigating the complexities of learning history in English in two South African schools
Authors: Chimbunde Pfuurai , Lekhethe Thapelo Kagiso , Moreeng Boitumelo Benjamin
Published: April 2024

Despite extensive research into the intersection between English aptitude and academic achievement, the challenges that learners for whom English is not their first language face when taught history in English are still underexplored. Underpinned by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, this study investigates the linguistic challenges that South African learners face when taught history using the English language, and then explores how learners would want to be taught. Using semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, this phenomenological study adopting a qualitative approach generated data from 12 purposively sampled participants drawn from two rural schools. Themed findings explicate that learners had poor command of the English language used for teaching and learning, and hence misunderstood command words, lacked confidence, mispronounced words and did not read for comprehension. The learners proposed that history teachers must employ scaffolding and translanguaging approaches to enhance mastery of history concepts. These findings suggest the need for schools through the Department of Education in South Africa, and in any other countries in similar contexts, to embrace scaffolding and translanguaging as pedagogical approaches in teaching history for understanding, rather than for uniformity. These insights could inform policies and practice for the language of teaching for the history curriculum in countries that are multilingual societies.
Evaluation of SMAP and CYGNSS Soil Moistures in Drought Prediction Using Multiple Linear Regression and GLDAS Product
Authors: Edokossi Komi , Jin Shuanggen , Calabia Andres , Molina Iñigo , Mazhar Usman
Published: April 2024

Drought is a devastating natural hazard and exerts profound effects on both the environment and society. Predicting drought occurrences is significant in aiding decision-making and implementing effective mitigation strategies. In regions characterized by limited data availability, such
as Southern Africa, the use of satellite remote sensing data promises an excellent opportunity for achieving this predictive goal. In this article, we assess the effectiveness of Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) and Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) soil moisture data
in predicting drought conditions using multiple linear regression-predicted data and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) soil moisture data.
La interseccionalidad. Un enfoque clave para el trabajo social
Authors: Martín de la Peña Lorena
Published: April 2024

Presentamos este libro cuyo objetivo principal es comprender el concepto de Interseccionalidad y su aplicabilidad en la práctica profesional de las y los trabajadores sociales. La preparación en esta materia se hace imprescindible para docentes, estudiantes, profesionales e investigadores de distintas áreas de las ciencias sociales al estar ligada con la calidad de la intervención desde los servicios sociales, del tercer sector u otros ámbitos como el Trabajo Social en empresas, sin olvidar la implicación que supone para la defensa completa de los derechos sociales. El texto consta de 11 capítulos redactados por 24 autores nacionales e internacionales especializados en la materia, que abordan diversas miradas sobre la Interseccionalidad y sus implicaciones, tanto desde una perspectiva teórica como práctica. La estructura y distribución de la obra está pensada para facilitar la comprensión de este concepto y su utilidad en diferentes campos académicos y grupos sociales. Cada capítulo cuenta con un resumen que lanza un esbozo con lo que el lector se va a encontrar, unas palabras clave que trazan los ejes principales de ese texto, una parte teórica amplia que explica el campo de actuación y otra parte práctica que enseña cómo aplicar previamente lo aprendido.
Límites del globalismo tecnoliberal cosmopolita
Authors: León Casero Jorge , Martínez Ciriero Mikel
Published: April 2024

En las últimas décadas, la concepción occidental de la ciudad y la ciudadanía ha experimentado una crisis multilateral con implicaciones jurídicas, políticas, sociales, económicas y culturales fruto de un nuevo orden hegemónico globalizado liderado por la tecnificación cibernética. El neoliberalismo implementado durante las tres últimas décadas ha tratado de llevar al límite (dx) las lógicas y capacidades sistémicas del desarrollo planetario, promoviendo con ello una aproximación tendencialmente acelerada hacia un colapso multicapa de escala civilizatoria. Frente a esta crisis sin parangón del cosmopolitismo globalista tecnoliberal, el presente libro convoca un diálogo interdisciplinar con diferentes voces en el que sus autoras y autores tratan de establecer algunas de las principales claves para la comprensión de las emergencias y obsolescencias que dicho proceso está generando, centrándose en la crisis del imaginario jurídico-político occidental, la reconfiguración material y sociosimbólica del espacio y la esfera pública, y la tecnificación y digitalización del medio con el que ambos fenómenos nos configuran y coproducen en sociedad. Jorge León Casero es licenciado en Filosofía, graduado en Derecho, Arquitecto y Dr. en Historia. Entre 2012 y 2016 trabajó como vicedecano de investigación de la Escuela de Arquitectura y Tecnología de la Universidad San Jorge donde dirigió el grupo de investigación Arquitecturas Open Source. Desde 2017 trabaja como profesor de Filosofía en la Universidad de Zaragoza. Mikel Martínez Ciriero es graduado en Filosofía por la Universidad de Navarra y ha cursado posgrados en Filosofía en la OttoFriedrich-Universität Bamberg, la Università degli Studi di Udine y la Università degli Studi di Trieste, además de colaborar en un proyecto curatorial del Museo Solomon R. Guggenheim de New York. Actualmente realiza un doctorado en Filosofía antigua en la Universidad de Navarra.
Flat flow solution to the mean curvature flow with volume constraint
Authors: Julin Vesa
Published: April 2024

In this paper I will revisit the construction of a global weak solution to the volume preserving mean curvature flow via discrete minimizing movement scheme by Mugnai, Seis and Spadaro [L. Mugnai, C. Seis and E. Spadaro,
Global solutions to the volume-preserving mean-curvature flow,
Calc. Var. Partial Differential Equations 55 2016, 1, Article ID 18]. This method is based on the gradient flow approach due to Almgren, Taylor and Wang [F. Almgren, J. E. Taylor and L. Wang,
Curvature-driven flows: a variational approach,
SIAM J. Control Optim. 31 1993, 2, 387–438] and Luckhaus and Sturzenhecker [S. Luckhaus and T. Sturzenhecker,
Implicit time discretization for the mean curvature flow equation,
Calc. Var. Partial Differential Equations 3 1995, 2, 253–271] and my aim is to replace the volume penalization with the volume constraint directly in the discrete scheme, which from practical point of view is perhaps more natural. A technical novelty is the proof of the density estimate which is based on second variation argument.
Jenseits der Forderung nach Gewaltfreiheit: Würdige Wut und emanzipatorisches Handeln
Authors: Quintana Laura
Published: April 2024

In this article, Laura Quintana elaborates on a conceptual distinction between violence and rage. Along with this distinction, she recognises that while rage may possess a destructive potential, it can also be politicised in emancipatory practices that confront conditions of injustice and structural violence. Her analysis centers on contemporary political movements in Latin America, which she views as collective manifestations of rage. Within these movements, the manifestation of rage is intertwined with forms of care and communal labor. Quintana characterises such movements as embodying a “dignified rage” (digna rabia) that calls for an emancipatory transformation of the status quo. She contends that these practices can be understood in terms of the notion of “anti-violence,” as it has been coined by Étienne Balibar. In this she diverges from Judith Butler, since, according to Quintana’s analysis, such practices challenge the demand for non-violence that has often served to neutralise the disruptive force of such manifestations and movements.
Idempotent decomposition of regularity and characterization for the accumulation of associated spectrum
Authors: Liu Ying , Jiang Lining
Published: April 2024

Let

𝒜

{\mathcal{A}}

be a complex unital Banach algebra and let

R
⊆
𝒜

{R\subseteq\mathcal{A}}

be a non-empty set. This paper defines the property such that R is closed for idempotent decomposition (in short, (CID) property) to explore the spectral decomposition relation. Further, for an upper semiregularity R with (CID) property,

R
D

{R^{D}}

is constructed as an extension of R to axiomatically study the accumulation of

σ
R

⁢

(
a
)

{\sigma_{R}(a)}

for any

a
∈
𝒜

{a\in\mathcal{A}}

. At last, several illustrative examples on Banach algebra and operator algebra are provided.
Square-integrable representations and the coadjoint action of solvable Lie groups
Authors: Beltiţă Ingrid , Beltiţă Daniel
Published: April 2024

We characterize the square-integrable representations of (connected, simply connected) solvable Lie groups in terms of the generalized orbits of the coadjoint action.
We prove that the normal representations corresponding, via the Pukánszky correspondence, to open coadjoint orbits are type I, not necessarily square-integrable representations.
We show that the quasi-equivalence classes of type I square-integrable representations are in bijection with the simply connected open coadjoint orbits, and the existence of an open coadjoint orbit guarantees the existence of a compact open subset of the space of primitive ideals of the group.
When the nilradical has codimension 1, we prove that the isolated points of the primitive ideal space are always of type I.
This is not always true for codimension greater than 2, as shown by specific examples of solvable Lie groups that have dense, but not locally closed, coadjoint orbits.