bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DOLLAR COST AVERAGING RETURNS ESTIMATION
Authors: BROWN HAYDEN
Published: February 2023

Given a geometric Brownian motion wealth process, a log-Normal lower bound is constructed for the returns of a regular investing schedule. The distribution parameters of this bound are computed recursively. For dollar cost averaging (equal amounts in equal time intervals), parameters are computed in closed form. A lump sum (single amount at time 0) investing schedule is described which achieves a terminal wealth distribution that matches the wealth distribution indicated by the lower bound. Results are applied to annual returns of the S&P Composite Index from the last 150 years. Among data analysis results, the probability of negative returns is less than 2.5% when annual dollar cost averaging lasts over 40 years.
Fabrication of Transparent Green-Emitting Plastic Scintillators by the Modified Polymerization Method
Authors: Fan Chao , Zhu Jiayi , Bi Yutie , Yang Hang , Ren Hongbo
Published: February 2023

The green-emitting plastic scintillators with high transparence, short decay time and high quantum yield were fabricated by the modified thermal polymerization procedure. The effects of different concentrations of primary and secondary fluorescent dopants on photoluminescence performance, such as fluorescence intensity, decay time and absolute quantum yield, were investigated through orthogonal experiments. The optimal formula ratio for the plastic scintillator was that the primary dopant concentration was 0.25 wt.% and the secondary dopant concentration was 0.03 wt.%. The photoluminescence decay time of the optimal sample was 3.37 ns, which was faster than that of EJ-260 (6.57 ns) and its corresponding quantum yield was 91.57%, compared to that of EJ-260 (98.59%).
CHARACTERISTICS OF INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS’ GOVERNANCE: AN INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors: HOFFMANN MICHELINE GAIA , MURAD ELISA PEREIRA , LEMOS DANNYELA DA CUNHA , FARIAS JOSIVANIA SILVA , SANCHES BEATRIZ LANCELLOTTI
Published: February 2023

The research aims to systematise governance characteristics of innovation ecosystems (IE) through an integrative literature review from SciELO, Scopus, and WOS since there is little research discussing governance applied to IE. The following categories emerged from the content analysis: governance approach; actors and roles; the relationship among actors; coordination mechanisms; common objective and value cocreation; goals and evaluation. The results show that governance is approached from different theoretical lenses, with the predominance of literature on network governance. There is also an emphasis on the orchestration concept. Furthermore, results suggest that IE governance is related to practices that align actors with roles and responsibilities oriented to common objectives, leading to value creation. The involvement of actors who collaboratively develop trust and capabilities, share knowledge and information, and generate innovations, technologies, and solutions, stands out. These collaborations may be organic and self-organised or deliberate and orchestrated.
Artificial General Intelligence and Noncomputability: A Dynamical Framework
Authors: Mikki Said
Published: February 2023

Achieving genuine (human-level) artificial general intelligence (AGI) is one of the major goals of computer science, engineering, psychology, neuroscience, and mathematics. In this paper, we critically reexamine the relation between natural intelligence and artificial intelligence at a fairly general theoretical level. After identifying four major structural themes in natural intelligence, we move to the issue of AGI implementation through physical computing machines. Motivated by Penrose’s Gödelian argument refuting the thesis of AGI realizability via Turing machines, we formulate several theses on the noncomputable character of AGI systems. In particular, we support the claim that infinitary noncomputability might constitute a viable path toward future AGI implementations, especially if coupled with nonlocality and a nonclassical probabilistic structure such as those in the quantum world. A theoretical mathematical framework for realizing AGI through non-Markovian stochastic dynamic systems is then presented and illustrated by describing multi-agent AGI assemblages comprised of interconnected dynamic agents. We envision that such networked dynamical assemblages might be powered by noncomputable physics or arranged in an infinitary structure.
Performance Implication of Tensor Irregularity and Optimization for Distributed Tensor Decomposition
Authors: Miao Zheng , Calhoun Jon C. , Ge Rong , Li Jiajia
Published: February 2023

Tensors are used by a wide variety of applications to represent multi-dimensional data; tensor decompositions are a class of methods for latent data analytics, data compression, and so on. Many of these applications generate large tensors with irregular dimension sizes and nonzero distribution. CANDECOMP/PARAFAC decomposition (
Cpd
) is a popular low-rank tensor decomposition for discovering latent features. The increasing overhead on memory and execution time of
Cpd
for large tensors requires distributed memory implementations as the only feasible solution. The sparsity and irregularity of tensors hinder the improvement of performance and scalability of distributed memory implementations. While previous works have been proved successful in
Cpd
for tensors with relatively regular dimension sizes and nonzero distribution, they either deliver unsatisfactory performance and scalability for irregular tensors or require significant time overhead in preprocessing. In this work, we focus on medium-grained tensor distribution to address their limitation for irregular tensors. We first thoroughly investigate through theoretical and experimental analysis. We disclose that the main cause of poor
Cpd
performance and scalability is the imbalance of multiple types of computations and communications and their tradeoffs; and sparsity and irregularity make it challenging to achieve their balances and tradeoffs. Irregularity of a sparse tensor is categorized based on two aspects: very different dimension sizes and a non-uniform nonzero distribution. Typically, focusing on optimizing one type of load imbalance causes other ones more severe for irregular tensors. To address such challenges, we propose irregularity-aware distributed
Cpd
that leverages the sparsity and irregularity information to identify the best tradeoff between different imbalances with low time overhead. We materialize the idea with two optimization methods: the prediction-based grid configuration and matrix-oriented distribution policy, where the former forms the global balance among computations and communications, and the latter further adjusts the balances among computations. The experimental results show that our proposed irregularity-aware distributed
Cpd
is more scalable and outperforms the medium- and fine-grained distributed implementations by up to 4.4 × and 11.4 × on 1,536 processors, respectively. Our optimizations support different sparse tensor formats, such as compressed sparse fiber (CSF), coordinate (COO), and Hierarchical Coordinate (HiCOO), and gain good scalability for all of them.
Reinforced PU-learning with Hybrid Negative Sampling Strategies for Recommendation
Authors: Yang Wun-Ting , Chen Chiao-Ting , Sang Chuan-Yun , Huang Szu-Hao
Published: February 2023

The data of recommendation systems typically only contain the purchased item as positive data and other un-purchased items as unlabeled data. To train a good recommendation model, in addition to the known positive information, we also need high-quality negative information. Capturing negative signals in positive and unlabeled data is challenging for recommendation systems. Most studies have used specific data and proposed negative sampling methods suitable to the data characteristics. Existing negative sampling strategies cannot automatically select suitable approaches for different data. However, this one-size-fits-all strategy often makes potential positive samples considered as negative, or truly negative samples considered as potential positive samples and recommend to users. In this way, it will not only turn down the recommendation result, but even also have an adverse effect. Accordingly, we propose a novel negative sampling model, Reinforced PU-learning with Hybrid Negative Sampling Strategies for Recommendation (RHNSR), which can combine multiple sampling strategies and dynamically adjust the proportions used by different sampling strategies. In addition, ensemble learning, which integrates various model sampling strategies for obtaining an improved solution, was applied to RHNSR. Extensive experiments were conducted on three real-world recommendation datasets, and the experimental results indicated that the proposed model significantly outperformed state-of-the-art baseline models and revealed significant improvements in precision and hit ratio (49.02% and 37.41%, respectively).
From the Editor
Authors: Murawski Andrzej
Published: February 2023

We announce the winner of the 2022 Alonzo Church Award for Outstanding Contributions to Logic and Computation and present the Call for Nominations for the next edition of the Award.

In the Automata Column, edited by Mahesh Viswanathan, Andreas Pavlogiannis overviews the CFL/Dyck reachability problem on graphs.

Mahsa Shirmohammadi presents a tutorial on stochastic games in Ranko Lazić's column on Verification.

As usual, we wrap up with the latest issue of SIGLOG Monthly, prepared by David Purser.

Finally, I would like to announce that, from January 2023, SIGLOG News will be edited by Daniele Gorla from the Sapienza University of Rome. I am very grateful to Daniele for agreeing to take over and wish him every success in this role!

It has been my great pleasure and honour to edit SIGLOG News since its foundation in 2014. I thank all the contributors and column editors for the enjoyable and fruitful co-operation and, most of all, for all their expert articles and introductions!
Identification of RALA as a Therapeutic Target and Prognostic Predictor of Osteosarcoma
Authors: Fan Gentao , Zhu Yan , Zhu Hao , Yu Lingfeng , Wang Zhen , Zhai Chenjun , Zhou Guangxin , Zhao Jianning , Wang Yicun
Published: February 2023

Background. Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary aggressive sarcoma of bone, with massive aberrant expression of oncogenes related to the development of OS. RALA, a kind of small Ras‐like guanosine triphosphatases, has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in several types of tumor, but its role in OS remains largely unknown. Methods. Abnormal expression of RALA was proven in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype‐Tissue Expression (GTEx), Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET), and RNA‐sequence of samples and cell lines. The role of RALA in OS was analyzed in terms of DNA methylation, immune cell infiltration, and patient survival. The cancer‐promoting effect of RALA was demonstrated in cell lines and xenograft osteosarcoma models. A prognostic scoring model incorporating RALA as an indicator was established with the clinical samples that we collected. Results. The results showed that RALA was highly expressed in human OS tissues and cell lines. Survival analysis demonstrated that RALA was the sole independent risk factor for poor overall survival and disease‐free survival in OS patients and impacted the proportion of infiltrating immune cells and DNA methylation in the OS tumor microenvironment. By gene‐gene interaction analysis, we found that the expression of RALA was highly correlated to the expression of ABCE1. Similar to RALA, upregulated ABCE1 is correlated with poor survival outcome of OS patients. In addition, the functional experiment demonstrated that higher expression of RALA promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OS cells. In vivo results were similar with the in vitro results. We examined m6a methylation‐related genes and found that m6A methylation is responsible for the abnormal expression of RALA. Finally, the prognostic prediction model of RALA could be used to predict the long‐term outcome of OS patients. Conclusions. We identified RALA as an oncogene in OS, and RALA upregulation in a concerted manner with ABCE1 was significantly associated with worse outcomes of OS patients. Targeting RALA may prove to be a novel target for OS immunotherapy in future clinical practice.
The Impact of Virtual Reality Technology on Jordan’s Learning Environment and Medical Informatics among Physicians
Authors: Jawarneh Malik , Alshar'e Marwan , Dewi Deshinta Arrova , Al Nasar Mohammad , Almajed Rasha , Ibrahim Amer
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study is to look into the components that affect the behavioral intention of Jordanians to use Virtual Reality Technology in the Learning Environment (VRTLE). For the educational and entertainment industries, virtual reality presents both obstacles and opportunities. The goal of this study is to determine the factors that influence VRTLE acceptance and to propose how such technology may be integrated into the educational setting of students and universities. A total of 60 students from private universities took part in the research. Among the participants, 63.3% were females and 36.7% were males. The modified UTAUT model used in this study only looked at the effects of four independent variables and two external factors, namely, acceptability (ACC) and usability (USA). Acceptability and usability have a substantial impact on student acceptance of VRTLE, according to the findings. Furthermore, as moderators, there is a major effect on both Awareness and Experience. This paper contributes significantly to the UTUAT model. It also tackles educational concerns about the transition to a virtual reality learning environment. As a result, it would be useful to look into other factors as well. As a result, a comprehensive empirical study should be designed to allow for the assessment of the effects of other variables as well.
Identification of Hub Genes for Colorectal Cancer with Liver Metastasis Using miRNA-mRNA Network
Authors: Zhang Si-ming , Shen Cheng , Li Jing , Wang Xing-dan , Zhai Si-qiu , Shi Ling-ling , Lu Dan-li , Jiang Xiao-hui , Qiu Junlan
Published: February 2023

Background. Liver metastasis is an important cause of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Increasing evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRLM). This study is aimed at exploring the potential miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. Methods. From the GEO database, we downloaded the microarray datasets GSE56350 and GSE73178. GEO2R was used to conduct differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between CRC and CRLM using the GEO2R tool. Then, GO and KEGG pathway analysis for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) performed via DAVID. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by the STRING and identified by Cytoscape. Hub genes were identified by miRNA-mRNA network. Finally, the expression of the hub gene expression was assessed in the GSE81558. Results. The four DEMs (hsa-miR-204-5p, hsa-miR-122-5p, hsa-miR-95-3p, and hsa-miR-552-3p) were identified as common DEMs in GSE56350 and GSE73178 datasets. The SP1 was likely to adjust the upregulated DEMs; however, the YY1 could regulate both the upregulated and downregulated DEMs. A total of 3925 genes (3447 upregulated DEM genes and 478 downregulated DEM genes) were screened. These predicted genes were mainly linked to Platinum drug resistance, Cellular senescence, and ErbB signaling pathway. Through the gene network construction, most of the hub genes were found to be modulated by hsa-miR-204-5p, hsa-miR-122-5p, hsa-miR-95-3p, and hsa-miR-552-3p. Among the top 20 hub genes, the expression of CREB1, RHOA, and EGFR was significantly different in the GSE81558 dataset. Conclusion. In this study, miRNA-mRNA networks in CRLM were screened between CRC patients and CRLM patients to provide a new method to predict for the pathogenesis and development of CRC.
Uptake and Translocation of Cesium in Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under Hydroponic Conditions
Authors: Shi Leiping , Yuan Longmiao , Li Ruijie , Wang Wei , Ding Zhe , Liang Jianjun , Qiu Junli , Li Ping
Published: February 2023

The uptake of radiocesium (RCs) by plants is key to the assessment of its environmental risk. However, the transfer process of RCs in the water-vegetable system still remains unclear. In this work, the uptake and accumulation processes of Cs+ (0-10 mM) in lettuce were explored under different conditions by using hydroponics. The results showed that the higher exposure concentration of Cs+ could lead to a faster uptake rate and would be beneficial to the uptake and accumulation of Cs+. The uptake of K+ by roots and leaves was inhibited significantly when Cs+ concentration increased, but unapparent for Ca2+ and Mg2+. It was found that the higher K+ and Ca2+ concentration was, the higher inhibition was found for the uptake of Cs+ in root. The uptake of Cs+ leads the decrease of chlorophyll content and brought a negative effect on plant photosynthesis, consequently, a negative effect on lettuce morphology and obvious decrease of biomass and root length. The contents of glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), and root vitality were increasing during the growth following stress of high concentrations of Cs+, which caused stresses on the antioxidant system of lettuce. The enrichment coefficient for Cs+ in leaves was in the range of 8-217. Moreover, the transfer factor was in the range of 0.114-0.828, which suggested that the high Cs+ concentration could enhance the transfer of Cs+ from lettuce root to leaf. This study provides more information on the transfer of RCs from water to food chain, promoting the understanding of the potential risk of RCs.
Thiophene or Pyridine-Substituted Quinoline Derivatives: Synthesis, Properties, and Electropolymerization for Energy Storage
Authors: Wang Dan , Yao Qi , Shao Tianfen , Wang Zhenxin , Ma Yangmin , Wang Chao
Published: February 2023

Designing novel electropolymerizable monomers is essential in developing electron donor-electron acceptor (D-A) type conjugated polymers for applications in sensing, catalysis, and energy storage. Thiophene and pyridine-substituted quinoline-based molecules (Th-Q, DTh-Q, and Py-Q) are synthesized in this work, and their crystal structures, optical properties, and electrochemical properties are investigated. The potentiostatic electropolymerization of these molecules are successfully carried out on carbon cloth substrate, with the thiophene and quinoline as the possible electropolymerizable units. The PTh-Q shows the best charge storage performance (

1.12
×

10

−
3

 C at 0.02 mA cm-2 in the potential range of 0-1 V) in 0.1 M Na2SO4, and maintains 77% of the initial capacity after 3000 charge-discharge cycles at 0.02 mA cm-2. The morphology and structure of the PTh-Q does not alter significantly after the repetitive charge-discharge cycling. The superior charge storage performance of the PTh-Q than PDTh-Q and PPy-Q is originated from the exposed highest amount of electrochemically active sites and the participation of redox processes of both hydroxyl/ketone structures on quinoline and thiophene groups.
Colloidal Quantum Dot:Organic Ternary Ink for Efficient Solution-Processed Hybrid Solar Cells
Authors: Jeong Hoon-Seok , Kim Dongeon , Jee Seungin , Si Min-Jae , Kim Changjo , Lee Jung-Yong , Jung Yujin , Baek Se-Woong
Published: February 2023

The fabrication of heterostructures via solution process is one of the essential technologies for realizing efficient advanced-generation optoelectronics. Hybrid structures comprising colloidal quantum dots (CQD) and organic semiconducting molecules are garnering considerable research interest because of their complementing optical and electrical properties. However, blending both the materials and forming a stable electronic ink are a challenge owing to the solubility mismatch. Herein, a CQD:organic ternary-blended hybrid solar ink is devised, and efficient hybrid solar cells are demonstrated via single-step spin coating under ambient conditions. Specifically, the passivation of the benzoic acid ligand on the CQD surface enables the dissolution in low-polar solvent such as chlorobenzene, which yields a stable CQD:organic hybrid ink. The hybrid ink facilitates the formation of favorable thin-film morphologies and, consequently, improves the charge extraction efficiency of the solar cells. The resulting hybrid solar cells exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 15.24% that is the highest performance among all existing air-processed CQD:organic hybrid solar cells.
Prognostic Significance of the CXCLs and Its Impact on the Immune Microenvironment in Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Gu Cairu , Xiong Xifeng , Liu Wei
Published: February 2023

The chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL) family in tumor tissue is closely related to tumor growth, metastasis, and survival. However, the differential expression profile and prognostic value of the CXCLs in ovarian cancer (OC) have not been elucidated. Therefore, we studied the expression levels and mutations of CXCLs in OC patient in TCGA and various public databases. The expression differences of CXCLs in OC cancer tissues and normal tissues were compared through the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database. The effect of CXCLs on OC prognosis was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier curves in GEPIA database. The impact of CXCLs on immune infiltration and clinicopathological outcomes in OC was assessed using the TIMER algorithm. Compared with normal tissues, we found that eight CXCLs were significantly differentially expressed in OC. The expression levels of CXCL9 (

P
=
0.0201

), CXCL11 (

P
=
0.0385

), and CXCL13 (

P
=
0.0288

) were significantly associated with tumor stage. CXCL13 was the only gene that significantly affected both disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in OC, and higher CXCL13 transcript levels implied longer DFS and OS. Although there was no significant impact on DFS, CXCL10 (

P
=
0.0079

) and CXCL11 (

P
=
0.0011

) expression levels had a significant effect on OS in OC. At the same time, CXCLs were significantly associated with several immune-infiltrating cells in OC tissues. The CXCLs were significantly associated with one or more immune-infiltrating cells in OC tissue. CXCL13 was differentially expressed in OC and significantly affected the prognosis of patients and was a potential marker of OC prognosis.
Resveratrol Mitigates Diabetic Testicular Dysfunction, Endocrine Deficits, and Insulin Resistance via Suppression of Sperm-Endocrine Aberrations and Oxidative Inflammation in Rats
Authors: Elsawy Hany , Famurewa Ademola C. , Sedky Azza
Published: February 2023

Diabetes mellitus (DM) provokes reproductive impairments through endocrine disturbance, sperm deficits, and testicular oxidative inflammation. The study investigated the reproductive protective effects of resveratrol (RSV) against testicular oxidative inflammation, sperm/endocrine deficits, and insulin resistance in streptozotocin- (STZ-, 65 mg/kg) induced DM rat model. Male rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (

n
=
6

): control, DM, RSV (150 mg/kg bw, orally), and RSV+DM group (21 days). The nontreated DM rats showed marked decreases in serum insulin, reproductive hormones (T, LH, and FSH), and lipid profile levels compared to control. The homeostatic index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) were adversely modulated. Sperm count and motility were profoundly decreased, whereas sperm abnormality was significantly increased. The testicular activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) level, along with inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-10) were significantly dysregulated. The DM induced histopathological lesions compared to control rats. Interestingly, the RSV administration to DM rats attenuated the altered reproductive parameters, restored antioxidant mechanism, and anti-inflammatory responses with improved insulin resistance. RSV could prevent DM-induced reproductive deficits and insulin resistance via modulating oxidative stress-mediated testicular inflammation in rats.
Managing Emergency Procurement Using Option Contract under Supply Disruption and Demand Uncertainty
Authors: Li Xinjun , Zhang Yao
Published: February 2023

Effective and flexible procurement and production strategies are capable of alleviating and mitigating supply disruption and demand risk. Considering the price fluctuation caused by environmental change, we investigate the optimal procurement and production strategies under supply disruption and demand uncertainty based on option contract in a two‐stage supply chain consisting of a retailer who has two procurement opportunities and a supplier who has the emergency production chance. We explore the value of option contract by comparing it with the optimal decision making under no option contract. The result shows that option ordering and emergency procurement can coordinate the optimal strategies under uncertain environment, improving the economic performance of whole supply chain. When the disruption probability is high or the price of emergency procurement is lower, the higher option price can stimulate the supplier to produce more products to satisfy the retailer’s emergency order at a low price, which is beneficial to both, and the value of option ordering is greater. Otherwise, the emergency procurement is worth more for the core enterprise. The moderate exercise price is conducive to the long‐term cooperation of the supplier and the retailer.
High-Dimensional Model Representation-Based Surrogate Model for Optimization and Prediction of Biomass Gasification Process
Authors: Ayub Yousaf , Zhou Jianzhao , Ren Jingzheng , Shi Tao , Shen Weifeng , He Chang
Published: February 2023

Biomass gasification process has been predicted and optimized based on process temperature, pressure, and gasifying agent ratios by integrating Aspen Plus simulation with the high-dimensional model representation (HDMR) method. Results show that temperature and biomass to air ratio (BMR) have significant effects on gasification process. HDMR models demonstrated high performance in predicting H2, net heat (NH), higher heating value (HHV), and lower heating value (LHV) with coefficients of determination 0.96, 0.97, 0.99, and 0.99, respectively. HDMR-based single-objective optimization has maximum outputs for H2, HHV, and LHV (0.369 of mole fractions, 340 kJ/mol, and 305 kJ/mol, respectively) but NH would be negative at these conditions, which indicates that process is not energy-efficient. The optimal solution was determined by the multiobjective which produced 0.24 mole fraction of H2, 158.17 kJ/mol of HHV, 142.48 kJ/mol of LHV, and 442.37 kJ/s NH at 765°C, 0.59 BMR, and 1 bar. Therefore, these parameters can provide an optimal solution for increasing gasification yield, keeping process energy-efficient.
State-of-Health Estimation for Lithium-Ion Battery Based on an Attention-Based CNN-GRU Model with Reconstructed Feature Series
Authors: Liu Baolei , Xu Jinli , Xia Wei
Published: February 2023

Health monitoring is an essential task for lithium battery systems. Recently, with the development of data-driven methods, deep learning has been successfully deployed for state-of-health (SOH) estimation. However, existing models trained using raw samples directly usually contain noise due to sensor errors. To enhance the performance of SOH prediction, short-term segments are extracted for SOH estimation based on reasonable SOC ranges. To address the measuring error that exists in the voltage and temperature samples, the reconstructed feature series (RFSs) is designed to restrain the signals’ noise. Then, a CNN-GRU network with attention mechanism is proposed to achieve SOH estimation based on short-term RFSs’ samples. To further enhance accuracy, a parallel structure is designed to fuse the feature information from both streams, raw samples, and RFSs in a reasonable manner. The performance of our proposed method is validated over a wide range of experiments on the Oxford battery degradation dataset, where the RMSE and MAE averaged 0.582% and 0.524%, respectively, demonstrating its forward estimation performance.
Compound Heterozygous Mutations in FSIP2 Cause Morphological Abnormalities in Sperm Flagella Leading to Male Infertility
Authors: Gao Fang , Ye Fei , Zhang Qian , Du Yaoqiang , Xu Weihai , Qi Ming , Ding Guolian , Zhang Ling , Shu Chongyi , Guo Xiaoyan , Li Shishi , Zheng Min , Qiu Liannv , Zhou Amanda , Sun Liya , Shu Jing
Published: February 2023

Multiple morphological abnormalities of sperm flagella (MMAF) indicate severe teratozoospermia. The fibrous sheath interacting protein 2 (FSIP2) plays an important role in the normal construction of the flagella. In this study, a novel compound heterozygous mutation site of FSIP2, involving c.272_275delinsAGGTTTTTATA (p.L92Vfster74) and c.16788_16791del (p.E5596fs), was identified using whole-exome sequencing in a 32-year-old male. Electron microscope images revealed thick sperm neck, scattered sperm mitochondria, and short sperm tail. In addition, FSIP2 could not be visualized in sperm cells via immunofluorescence staining. Moreover, we used a protein domain prediction tool to identify a potential FSIP2 functional domain (5901-6774), the corresponding deletion of which was responsible for the MMAF phenotype in the infertile man. Finally, we reviewed the literature on FSIP2 and found that FSIP2 mutations are relatively concentrated, with high-frequency mutation regions in exon 16 and exon 17 accounting for 50% (10/20) and 35% (7/20) of cases, respectively. In conclusion, FISP2 is a common pathogenic gene of MMAF, which may provide a rationale for genetic counseling in the next generation of patients with male infertility.
Remnant Cholesterol and Common Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Community Population with Normal Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
Authors: Song Yan , Yang Jinru , Zhao Qiaoling , Bai Yunfei , Ruan Litao
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Remnant cholesterol is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, especially when low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels are normal. However, there are few studies on the relationship between remnant cholesterol and subclinical atherosclerosis. Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) is an imaging marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between remnant cholesterol and cIMT in a community population with normal LDL-C. Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis; 1,101 community population with available carotid artery imaging and fasting lipid data with LDL-C <4.1 mmol/L were included in this analysis. Remnant cholesterol was calculated as total cholesterol minus LDL-C minus high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Abnormal cIMT was defined as maximum cIMT value ≥1 mm. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationships between remnant cholesterol levels and abnormal cIMT. Results: As the remnant cholesterol level increased from the lowest to the highest quartile, the rate of abnormal cIMT increased from 24.5% to 38.6% (p trend <0.001) in the community population with normal LDL-C level. In the unadjusted model, the odds ratios (ORs, 95% confidence intervals) in the highest quartile group were 1.937 (1.338–2.803) for abnormal cIMT compared with the lowest quartile. The multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals) for the highest versus lowest quartile of remnant cholesterol were 2.132 (1.420–3.202) for abnormal cIMT. Conclusion: Elevated fasting remnant cholesterol levels were positively associated with abnormal cIMT in community population with normal LDL-C levels. Remnant cholesterol may be an important indicator of risk stratification in community population with normal LDL-C level.
Using Direct and Indirect Estimates for Alcohol-Attributable Mortality: A Modelling Study Using the Example of Lithuania
Authors: Rehm Jürgen , Jiang Huan , Kim Kawon Victoria , Room Robin , Rovira Pol , Shield Kevin David , Tran Alexander , Lange Shannon , Štelemėkas Mindaugas
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Comparative risk assessments (CRAs) for alcohol use are based on indirect estimates of attributable harm, and usually combine country-specific exposure estimates and global risk relations derived from meta-analyses. CRAs for Eastern European countries, such as Lithuania, base their risk relations not on global risk relations, but on a large Russian cohort study. The availability of a direct estimate of alcohol-attributable mortality following the 2017 implementation of a large increase in alcohol excise taxes in Lithuania has allowed a comparison of these indirect estimates with a country-specific gold standard. Methods: A statistical modelling study compared direct (predictions based on a time-series methodology) and indirect (predictions based on an attributable-fraction methodology) estimates of alcohol-attributable mortality before and after a large increase in alcohol excise taxes in Lithuania. Specifically, Russia-specific versus global relative risks were compared against the gold standard of time-series based predictions. Results: Compared to direct estimates, indirect estimates markedly underestimated the reduction of alcohol-attributable mortality 12 months post intervention by at least 63%. While both of the indirect estimates differed markedly from the direct estimates, the Russia-specific estimates were closer to the direct estimates, primarily due to higher estimates for alcohol-attributable cardiovascular mortality. Discussion: As all indirect estimates were markedly lower than direct estimates, current overall relative risks and price elasticities should be re-evaluated. In particular, global estimates should be replaced by new regional estimates based on cohort studies.
Intake of Acetylsalicylic Acid and High Age Are Risk Factors for Iron Deficiency Anemia in Patients with Large Diaphragmatic Hernias
Authors: Dietrich Christoph G. , Kottmann Tanja , Holtdirk Annette , Heise Joachim W.
Published: February 2023

Introduction: In 15% of patients with iron deficiency anemia, large diaphragmatic hernias are found as the cause of chronic iron loss. Conversely, iron deficiency anemia is present in 10–40% of diaphragmatic hernia patients. However, it is unclear why some patients with large diaphragmatic hernias develop anemia and others do not. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 116 patients with diaphragmatic hernias larger than 5 cm for the presence of anemia and the effect of surgery on this anemia, dividing these patients into 4 groups (group A: 21 patients with anemia/surgery, group B: 27 patients without anemia but with surgery, group C: 34 patients with anemia but without surgery, and group D: 34 patients without anemia/surgery). Results: Women significantly predominated in the patient population (76%). Patients with iron deficiency anemia tended to be significantly older than patients without iron deficiency anemia (74.7 ± 12.2 vs. 69.6 ± 14.8 years, p = 0.08). The proportion of patients taking ASA was significantly higher in the anemia collective (41.8% vs. 9.8%, p < 0.001). Regression analysis further confirmed that higher age and ASA intake correlated significantly with lower hemoglobin in anemic patients. Performing hernia repair significantly decreased anemia rates and PPI use in the anemia patients, while both remained almost the same in the non-operated anemia patients. Conclusion: ASA use and advanced age are risk factors for the presence of iron deficiency anemia in patients with large diaphragmatic hernias. Surgical hernia repair is suitable to reduce anemia.
A hidroginástica como meio para manutenção da qualidade de vida e saúde do idoso
Authors: Teixeira Clarissa Stefani , Pereira Érico Felden , Rossi Angela Garcia
Published: February 2023

Evidências científicas apontam para os importantes benefícios da prática de atividades físicas para os idosos, considerando sua mobilidade, saúde física e mental e qualidade de vida. A hidroginástica tem sido apontada como uma alternativa para inserção dos idosos nas práticas corporais e para a promoção de um estilo de vida mais ativo e saudável, mas, que, ainda carece de maiores investigações sobre seu real efeito sobre a saúde e a qualidade de vida dessa população e principalmente, metodologias de trabalho para esse fim. Desta forma, esta pesquisa bibliográfica objetivou realizar uma busca de estudos sobre hidroginástica para a terceira idade, discutindo e apresentando seus resultados, buscando relações com a promoção da saúde e qualidade de vida dessa população. As leituras nos permitiram vislumbrar que a hidroginástica favorece o desenvolvimento de algumas importantes qualidades físicas como resistência cardiorrespiratória, força e flexibilidade. Como qualquer outra forma de exercitação, deve ser praticada de forma contínua, principalmente, considerando indivíduos na terceira idade e pode também ser unida a atividades de relaxamento e recreação. As relações da prática da hidroginástica com a saúde dos idosos nos estudos analisados consideraram principalmente o desempenho em testes motores o que remete a necessidade de estudos que analisem também as repercussões dessas práticas sobre a qualidade de vida enquanto uma percepção de bem estar dos idosos.
Discricionariedade e vinculação na definição das normas ambientais internas nas contratações administrativas e vinculação na definição das normas ambientais internas nas contratações administrativas
Authors: Ferreira Marcos Augusto do Nascimento , Gasiola Gustavo Gil
Published: February 2023

As contratações administrativas absorvem parte significativa do produto interno bruto brasileiro, ressaltando a importância da responsabilidade ambiental do Estado enquanto consumidor para a efetividade econômica de medidas de sustentabilidade ambiental. O direito brasileiro, de fato, impõe o desenvolvimento nacional sustentável como objetivo a ser atingido por meio das contratações administrativas. A complexidade do ordenamento, entretanto, torna bastante difícil a tarefa de definir, em cada contratação, as normas ambientais aplicáveis. O presente artigo busca examinar o papel da discricionariedade administrativa na definição dessas normas. São investigados os limites impostos no ordenamento à discricionariedade administrativa e a motivação da decisão discricionária, inclusive à luz do princípio da razoabilidade. São identificadas algumas possibilidades de decisões discricionárias, face a diferentes fundamentos normativos para as exigências ambientais. Conclui-se que há margem para discricionariedade administrativa em todas as situações examinadas.
Direito administrativo, garantismo democrático e eficiência: a busca do equilíbrio necessário
Authors: Pessoa Robertonio Santos
Published: February 2023

O artigo aborda os conflitos existentes no direito administrativo entre duas de suas dimensões fundamentais: a dimensão legal-garantística e a dimensão gerencial. Expõe como as potencialidades advindas do processo de constitucionalização do direito administrativo operado pela Constituição Federal de 1988 foram, em parte, bloqueadas com o advento do gerencialismo, que passou a nortear o debate administrativista a partir dos anos 90 do século passado. Examina como a exacerbação das ideias gerencialistas, a partir do influxo da ideologia neoliberal e do avanço de uma dinâmica privatizante sobre a administração pública, tem comprometido o equilíbrio que deveria existir entre as dimensões garantísticas e gerenciais do direito administrativo. A abordagem empregada combina estudo bibliográfico de obras de referência, especialmente na análise da teoria constitucional, com o exame de documentos, especialmente na parte pertinente à reforma gerencial.
Basílio da Gama e Machado de Assis: Poetas
Authors: Miranda José Américo
Published: February 2023

Este artigo trata, comparativamente, da técnica do verso em Basílio da Gama e em Machado de Assis. Dois são os versos estudados: o decassílabo e o alexandrino. O decassílabo, Basílio da Gama o empregou em O Uraguai; e nas Poesias completas (publicadas em 1901), de Machado de Assis, ele é o verso usado com mais frequência. Quanto ao verso alexandrino, Basílio da Gama o utilizou no padrão chamado “alexandrino arcaico, ou espanhol”, na tradução da “La déclamation théatrale”, do poeta francês Claude Dorat (“A declamação trágica”, na tradução de Basílio da Gama), ao passo que Machado de Assis empregou o chamado “alexandrino clássico, ou francês” – o verso alexandrino é também muito empregado por Machado de Assis (é o segundo em frequência, depois do decassílabo) em suas Poesias completas.
O dia da tripla catástrofe: Primeiros relatos
Authors: Tavares Rui
Published: February 2023

Reprodução integral do quarto capítulo d’ O pequeno livro do Grande Terramoto: Ensaio sobre 1755 (Lisboa: Tinta-da-China, 2017). Agradecemos ao autor que cedeu gentilmente todos os direitos de publicação deste ensaio.
Nos meandros da memória. Tensões e contensões do brincar
Authors: Rizolli Marcos
Published: February 2023

A memória da infância, quase sempre, reivindica lembranças leves, ingênuas e descompromissadas. No cenário em que estamos, a mente adulta – quase idosa – foi interpelada pela voz do menino para performar um giro memorial, num convite para rever as camadas do meu tempo. Então, com a minha arte, foram produzidos desenhos em grafite e sépia sobre papel (com posterior tratamento digital) com o intuito de produzir uma imagética diegese. Como talvez gostaria Warburg, criei um pequeno atlas do brincar para, de algum modo, responder aquilo que teria indagado Didi-Huberman: o que são as emoções?
Ruínas efêmeras
Authors: Barbosa Paulo Eduardo
Published: February 2023

O ensaio visual propõe cotejar imagens efêmeras da cidade a enunciados propostos por Marc Augé na perspectiva de relacionar tensão e contensão urbanas contemporâneas.\
Reflexões acerca das concepções que balizaram a criação das casas-museu no Brasil como subsídio para a musealização da Casa da Candinha, Guarulhos, SP
Authors: Campos Daniel Carlos de
Published: February 2023

As casa-museus no Brasil, em especial os Museus Históricos Paulistas e a Casa da Cora Coralina, GO, são referenciais para a musealização da Casa da Candinha, Guarulhos, SP, edificação do século XVIII, resiste ao avanço da ocupação urbana e ao ritmo letárgico das ações do poder público, evidenciando os desafios e perspectivas para sua preservação.
Acolhimento Institucional de Crianças e Adolescentes: re(in)flexões sobre o trabalho com as famílias
Authors: Faria Nicole Costa , Calais Lara Brum de
Published: February 2023

O presente capítulo tem como objetivo problematizar algumas nuances envolvidas no trabalho da Psicologia com famílias de crianças, adolescentes e jovens em situação de acolhimento institucional. Ampara-se, portanto, em estudos sobre a constituição da pobreza e dos modos de subjetivação atrelados a esse processo, além das articulações teóricas com o contexto de implementação da Política Nacional de Assistência Social. Contudo, para além de um caminho teórico já amplamente discutido, lançou-se mão de uma aposta ético-política de reflexão crítica e implicada sobre cenas cotidianas vivenciadas pelas/os profissionais. A partir de uma inspiração cartográfica, foram elencados recortes de cenas do trabalho de uma das autoras como psicóloga de um Serviço de Acolhimento Institucional em uma cidade de Minas Gerais, que abriram espaço para a discussão de três principais pontos: a) a temporalidade como característica fundamental do trabalho no acolhimento institucional; b) a ruptura dos laços familiares agenciada pelo acolhimento institucional; c) a relação que as famílias estabelecem com o acolhimento institucional, atravessadas por concepções racistas e sexistas. Resultam-se desse capítulo argumentações que intentam uma condução dialética das análises sobre os processos de trabalho, com ênfase na construção de uma práxis psicológica que enseje rupturas com modelos normatizadores, silenciadores, opressores, racistas e sexistas de atuação.
Right Ventricular Architectural Remodeling and Functional Adaptation in Pulmonary Hypertension
Authors: Mendiola Emilio A. , da Silva Gonçalves Bos Denielli , Leichter Dana M. , Vang Alexander , Zhang Peng , Leary Owen P. , Gilbert Richard J. , Avazmohammadi Reza , Choudhary Gaurav
Published: February 2023

Background:

Global indices of right ventricle (RV) function provide limited insights into mechanisms underlying RV remodeling in pulmonary hypertension (PH). While RV myocardial architectural remodeling has been observed in PH, its effect on RV adaptation is poorly understood.

Methods:

Hemodynamic assessments were performed in 2 rodent models of PH. RV free wall myoarchitecture was quantified using generalized Q-space imaging and tractography analyses. Computational models were developed to predict RV wall strains. Data from animal studies were analyzed to determine the correlations between hemodynamic measurements, RV strains, and structural measures.

Results:

In contrast to the PH rats with severe RV maladaptation, PH rats with mild RV maladaptation showed a decrease in helical range of fiber orientation in the RV free wall (139º versus 97º;
P
=0.029), preserved global circumferential strain, and exhibited less reduction in right ventricular-pulmonary arterial coupling (0.029 versus 0.017 mm/mm Hg;
P
=0.037). Helical range correlated positively with coupling (
P
=0.036) and stroke volume index (
P
<0.01). Coupling correlated with global circumferential strain (
P
<0.01) and global radial strain (
P
<0.01) but not global longitudinal strain.

Conclusions:

Data analysis suggests that adaptive RV architectural remodeling could improve RV function in PH. Our findings suggest the need to assess RV architecture within routine screenings of PH patients to improve our understanding of its prognostic and therapeutic significance in PH.
Emotions as Key to Russian GenZs’ Consumption of Political News
Authors: Salikhova Elena A. , Vyugina Daria M.
Published: February 2023

Background. Media consumption by the digital generation in Russia should not only be of interest to media researchers or managers. The fact that young people’s interaction with various information sources and the media is noticeably different from the daily practice of older generations and has created new trends and habits, must be taken into account by the teaching community, parents, and political forces. This issue is of particular interest to politicians, because it points to the need for them to transform their information policy. Objective. The purpose of this study was to find out how media formats that appeal to emotions of young people influence their media consumption. Design. During the first stage, we surveyed respondents in three cities with populations of over one million; the surveys allowed us to identify key sources of information and the motivation for various kinds of digital content consumption by youth. During the second stage, 20 in-depth interviews provided a deeper understanding of where the teenagers got their political news and what influenced their consumption. Results. The authors of this paper have concluded that the digital generation does not consume political news purposefully. They rarely turn to socio-political publications and do not watch shows on federal TV channels. In fact, members of this generation mostly deny having any interest in this topic or awareness of it. However, through various entertaining, primarily humorous, content, which is the most popular among young people, a clear political agenda, albeit subjective, is being formed in their information space. Conclusion. Our work refutes the common misconception of researchers, representatives of the state system, and journalists that the digital generation is not interested in politics. Rather, their pursuit of emotional experiences, primarily positive ones, has become their main incentive for consuming political news.