bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rare case of recurrent stroke in a patient with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: a case report
Authors: Arsenijević Mirjana , Ivančević Nikola , Jovanović Dejana , Radović Milan , Berisavac Ivana
Published: June 2021

Background

Central nervous system involvement is rarely described in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and occurs in 5–9% of patients. Among central nervous system manifestations, cerebral infarctions are the most common. To the best of our knowledge, a recurrent stroke in patients with EGPA without cardiac risk factors during maintenance therapy so far has not been described.

Case presentation

A previously healthy 57-year-old female during the course of 1 year developed asthma, sinusitis, polyneuropathy, muscle weakness, and rash followed by fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, and fever. After an initial diagnostic evaluation, elevated values of eosinophils, liver enzymes, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and inflammatory markers (sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein) were found, and renal impairment was detected. On the third day of hospitalization, she developed left-sided hemiparesis due to an ischemic stroke in the right basal ganglia. She has been diagnosed with EGPA, and oral corticosteroid, immunosuppressive, and antiplatelet therapy were applied. Despite potent treatment and initial recovery, a few weeks later, she developed recurrent ischemic stroke in the left hemisphere and pulmonary embolism as rare and potentially severe complications of EGPA. Assuming that complete disease remission had not been established previously, oral prednisone was initially substituted with intravenous methylprednisolone pulses. During follow-up, immunosuppressive therapy was slowly discontinued, oral corticosteroid therapy was reduced to a maintenance dose, and thromboembolic events were well controlled by oral anticoagulant therapy.

Conclusion

Anticoagulant therapy, in addition to immunosuppressive maintenance therapy, should be considered in any EGPA patient who has had an ischemic stroke even without cardiac risk factors.
Awake surgery for lesions near eloquent brain under scalp block and clinical monitoring: experience of single center with limited resources
Authors: Abdelhameed Esam , Abdelghany Mohamed Shebl , Abdelkhalek Hazem , Elatrozy Hytham Ibrahim Shokry
Published: June 2021

Background

Surgery of the brain tumors near eloquent areas carries the risk of either disabling neurological deficit or inadequate resection with bad prognosis in both situations. Awake surgery is the gold standard procedure for such lesions. However, it requires certain anesthetic drugs, advanced techniques, and trained teams that are not available in every neurosurgical institute. This work aims to evaluate safety, feasibility, and outcome of operating on patients with space occupying lesions near eloquent areas under scalp block being continuously examined by a neurologist through retrospective study of 20 cases with supratentorial lesions related to language or sensorimotor cortex.

Results

There were 12 males and 8 females with mean age 36.8 years. Forty percent of patients were presented by motor weakness. Tumors were related to motor cortex in 11 patients and to language areas in 9 patients. Mean operative time was 210 min. Gross or near total resection was achieved in 15cases, four cases had subtotal resection and biopsy only was done in 1 case. Two patients suffered from intraoperative seizures and conversion to general anesthesia was required in one patient.

Conclusion

Operating on tumors near eloquent brain areas under scalp block and continuous neurological examination during tumor resection proved to be effective in early detection and prevention of permanent major deficits especially in the developing countries with limited resources.
Aberrant expression of multiple T cell markers on diffuse large B cell lymphoma: a case report
Authors: Mehta Anurag , Chadha Prerna , Agarwal Poojan , Pasricha Sunil
Published: June 2021

Background

Aberrant T cell antigen expression has been well documented in diffuse large B cell lymphomas. However, co-expression of multiple T cell antigens including CD3, which has been considered a specific marker for T cells is extremely rare. Awareness about such aberrant expression is important so as not to misdiagnose or wrongly classify a lymphoma. The aim of this article is to report such a case.

Case presentation

A 68-year-old postmenopausal lady, diabetic and hypertensive, presented with an axillary lump of one week’s duration. There was no other relevant medical history. Ultrasonography revealed multiple hypoechoic cystic lesions varying in size from 3.9 to 4.2 cm3. Aspiration was suggestive of an infective pathology. Excision biopsy of the mass was diagnosed as diffuse large B cell lymphoma with aberrant T cell antigen expression. She received 4 cycles of chemotherapy after which she was lost to follow-up.

Conclusion

The case presented as a diagnostic dilemma for the pathologist. The predicament lies in classifying it as a B cell lymphoma with an aberrant expression of T cell markers versus a T cell lymphoma with an aberrant B cell marker expression which has a significant implication on the treatment offered. This can be solved by looking at the expression of the B cell specific transcription factors. The key to diagnosis lies in the knowledge of their existence and the application of a panel of markers.
Functional approach to the search for the quasioptimal value of the regularization parameter in downward continuation of potential fields
Authors: Karcol Roland , Pašteka Roman
Published: June 2021

The Tikhonov regularized approach to the downward continuation of potential fields is a partial but strong answer to the instability and ambiguity of the inverse-problem solution in studies of applied gravimetry and magnetometry. The task is described with two functionals, which incorporate the properties of the desired solution, and it is solved as a minimization problem in the Fourier domain. The result is a filter in which the high-pass component is damped by a stabilizing condition, which is controlled by a regularization parameter (RP) — this parameter setting is the crucial step in the regularization approach. The ability of using the values of the functionals themselves as the tool for RP setting in the comparison with commonly used tools such as various types of LP norms is demonstrated, as well as their possible role in the source’s upper boundary estimation. The presented method is tested in a complex synthetic data test and is then applied to real detailed magnetic data from an unexploded ordnance survey and regional gravity data as well to verify its usability.
Distributed acoustic sensing for near-surface imaging using submarine telecommunication cable: A case study in the Trondheimsfjord, Norway
Authors: Taweesintananon Kittinat , Landrø Martin , Brenne Jan Kristoffer , Haukanes Aksel
Published: June 2021

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) transforms submarine telecommunication cables into densely sampled seismic receivers. To demonstrate DAS applications for seismic imaging, we have used an optical cable on the seafloor in the Trondheimsfjord, Norway, to record seismic data generated by a controlled seismic source. The data are simultaneously recorded by a towed hydrophone array and the fiber-optic cable. Following our data processing methods, we can produce seismic images of the seafloor and underlying geologic structures from the hydrophone array and DAS data. We find that the hydrophone and DAS data have a comparable signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, DAS images can be improved by using a seismic source that has sufficiently large energy within the frequency range matching the spatial resolution of DAS. The temporal resolution of the DAS images can be improved by minimizing the crossline offset between seismic sources and the DAS cable. The seismic images from DAS can be used to support geohazard analysis and various subsurface exploration activities.
Adaptive complex frequency with V-cycle GMRES for preconditioning 3D Helmholtz equation
Authors: Xu Wenhao , Zhong Yang , Wu Bangyu , Gao Jinghuai , Liu Qing Huo
Published: June 2021

Solving the Helmholtz equation has important applications in various areas, such as acoustics and electromagnetics. Using an iterative solver together with a proper preconditioner is key for solving large 3D Helmholtz equation. The performance of existing Helmholtz preconditioners usually deteriorates when the minimum spatial sampling density is small (approximately four points per wavelength [PPW]). To improve the efficiency of the Helmholtz preconditioner at a small minimum spatial sampling density, we have adopted a new preconditioner. In our scheme, the preconditioning matrix is constructed based on an adaptive complex frequency that varies with the minimum spatial sampling density in terms of the number of PPWs. Furthermore, the multigrid V-cycle with a GMRES smoother is adopted to effectively solve the corresponding preconditioning linear system. The adaptive complex frequency together with a GMRES smoother can work stably and efficiently at different minimum spatial sampling densities. Numerical results of four typical 3D models show that our scheme is more efficient than the multilevel GMRES method and shifted Laplacian with multigrid full V-cycle and a symmetric Gauss-Seidel smoother for preconditioning the 3D Helmholtz linear system, especially when the minimum spatial sampling density is large (approximately 120 PPW) or small (approximately 4 PPW).
Time-dispersion correction for arbitrary even-order Lax-Wendroff methods and the application on full-waveform inversion
Authors: Ren Zhiming , Bao Qianzong , Gu Bingluo
Published: June 2021

A second-order accurate finite-difference (FD) approximation is commonly used to approximate the second-order time derivative of a wave equation. The second-order accurate FD scheme may introduce time dispersion in wavefield extrapolation. Lax-Wendroff methods can suppress such dispersion by replacing the high-order time FD error terms with space FD error-correcting terms. However, the time dispersion cannot be completely eliminated and the computation cost dramatically increases with increasing order of (temporal) accuracy. To mitigate the problem, we have extended the existing time-dispersion correction scheme for the second- or fourth-order Lax-Wendroff method to a scheme for arbitrary even-order methods, which uses the forward and inverse time-dispersion transform (FTDT and ITDT) to add and remove the time dispersion from synthetic data. We test the correction scheme using a homogeneous model and the Sigsbee2A model. The modeling examples suggest that the use of derived FTDT and ITDT pairs on high-order Lax-Wendroff methods can effectively remove time-dispersion errors from high-frequency waves while using longer time steps than allowed in low-order Lax-Wendroff methods. We investigate the influence of the time dispersion on full-waveform inversion (FWI) and show an antidispersion workflow. We apply the FTDT to source terms and recorded traces before inversion, resulting in the source and adjoint wavefields containing equal time dispersion from source-side wave propagation and the modeled and observed traces accumulating equal time dispersion from source- and receiver-side wave propagation. The inversion results reveal that the antidispersion workflow is capable of increasing the accuracy of FWI for arbitrary even-order Lax-Wendroff methods. In addition, the high-order method can obtain better inversion results compared to the second-order method with the same antidispersion workflow.
Childhood Adiposity Associated With Expanded Effector Memory CD8+ and Vδ2+Vγ9+ T Cells
Authors: Looman Kirsten I M , Santos Susana , Moll Henriette A , Leijten Charlotte W E , Grosserichter-Wagener Christina , Voortman Trudy , Jaddoe Vincent V W , van Zelm Menno C , Kiefte-de Jong Jessica C
Published: June 2021

Context

Adult obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and may give rise to future chronic disease. However, it is unclear whether adiposity-related inflammation is already apparent in childhood.

Objective

To study associations between child adiposity measures with circulating monocytes and naive and memory subsets in CD4, CD8, and γδ T cell lineages.

Methods

Ten-year-old children (n = 890) from the Generation R Cohort underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging for body composition (body mass index [BMI], fat mass index [FMI], android-to-gynoid fat mass ratio, visceral fat index, liver fat fraction). Blood samples were taken for detailed immunophenotyping of leukocytes by 11-color flow cytometry.

Results

Several statistically significant associations were observed. A 1-SD increase in total FMI was associated with +8.4% (95% CI 2.0, 15.2) Vδ2+Vγ9+ and +7.4% (95% CI 2.4, 12.5) CD8+TEMRO cell numbers. A 1-SD increase in visceral fat index was associated with +10.7% (95% CI 3.3, 18.7) Vδ2+Vγ9+ and +8.3% (95% CI 2.6, 14.4) CD8+TEMRO cell numbers. Higher android-to-gynoid fat mass ratio was only associated with higher Vδ2+Vγ9+ T cells. Liver fat was associated with higher CD8+TEMRO cells but not with Vδ2+Vγ9+ T cells. Only liver fat was associated with lower Th17 cell numbers: a 1-SD increase was associated with −8.9% (95% CI −13.7, −3.7) Th17 cells. No associations for total CD8+, CD4+ T cells, or monocytes were observed. BMI was not associated with immune cells.

Conclusion

Higher Vδ2+Vγ9+ and CD8+TEMRO cell numbers in children with higher visceral fat index could reflect presence of adiposity-related inflammation in children with adiposity of a general population.
Newly Discovered Śaiva-Ascetic Icons from West Bengal
Authors: Ghosh Ranjusri
Published: June 2021

Koṭivarṣa, a sacred place and an administrative unit that is mentioned in early medieval Indian religious and epigraphic sources from 700 to 1200 ce, is the area of focus of this essay. As an administrative unit, it was almost coterminous with the old Dinajpur district of Bengal, which is now divided into the present Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. At one point in time, its headquarters came to be known as Devīkoṭa, underscoring its rise as a prime place for Devī, the Mother goddess. Sculptural arrays of the Mother goddess from this place point to the domineering presence of her fearsome principles; they parallel textual descriptions about the sacred importance of a wrathful form of the Mother, normally referred to as Cāmuṇḍā. The religious texts, however, do not speak of the ascetics who might have performed the rituals to propitiate the Mother. We do not yet know if any new dimension was added to the corpus of rituals, and the Śiva-Śakti power equation after the Saiddhāntika Śaiva preceptors affiliated with Golagī great monastery of Durvāsas lineage entered Devīkoṭa at the end of the tenth century. This essay searches for answers in the visual elements on the lower registers of stone steles, such as the devotees/donors, other individuals in the service of the Mother Goddess, potfuls of offerings, and the environment of cremation grounds in which worship took place. The main deity and associated figures occupying the larger space in the middle of the steles have tantric content. Icons of Śaiva ascetics from West Bengal, including the three newly discovered examples, are important subjects for this essay, which concludes with the transformation of Devīkoṭa to Bangarh, where Śiva emerged as the chief god par excellence. The Devī had lost her koṭa, her bastion, forever.
Pressure-induced changes on the morphology and gene expression in mammalian cells
Authors: Okamoto Kazuko , Watanabe Tomonobu M. , Horie Masanobu , Nishiyama Masayoshi , Harada Yoshie , Fujita Hideaki
Published: June 2021

We evaluated the effect of high hydrostatic pressure on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Hydrostatic pressures of 15, 30, 60, and 90 MPa were applied for 10 min, and changes in gene expression were evaluated. Among genes related to mechanical stimuli, death-associated protein 3 was upregulated in MEF subjected to 90 MPa pressure; however, other genes known to be upregulated by mechanical stimuli did not change significantly. Genes related to cell differentiation did not show a large change in expression. On the other hand, genes related to pluripotency, such as Oct4 and Sox2, showed a twofold increase in expression upon application of 60 MPa hydrostatic pressure for 10 min. Although these changes did not persist after overnight culture, cells that were pressurized to 15 MPa showed an increase in pluripotency genes after overnight culture. When mouse ES cells were pressurized, they also showed an increase in the expression of pluripotency genes. These results show that hydrostatic pressure activates pluripotency genes in mammalian cells.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
La obra poética de Marie de Romieu. ¿Traducción o imitación?
Authors: Álvarez Jurado Manuela
Published: June 2021

The poetic work of Marie Romieu proves such an intricate maze of intertextual relations, that we are bound to find in her poems the traces left by her many readings of Classical, Italian and medieval French texts in addition to those of some contemporary authors. This sort of polyphony meets the poetess’ attempt to rescue those texts from the readers’ memory so that they can still linger throughout the ages to come. By the use of a comparative analysis of several stanzas translated by Marie Romieu and her corresponding original texts we may draw the conclusion that Marie Romieu tries to imitate rather than translate them, and alongside with J. du Bellay she considers translation as a kind of re-writing process, that is, a creative act wherefrom a new poetic work originates different from the source text where the ‘I’ of the translator has replaced that of the author with the purpose of adapting the work of a new cultural reality, in this case the French Renaissance.
Spielarten geistlicher Trauer. Maria Magdalena am Grab. Teil II: Deutsche Predigten und Prosa-Übersetzungen des Ps.-Origenes-Textes1
Authors: Lóser Freimut
Published: June 2021

Der Gesamtbeitrag gilt der Trauer Maria Magdalenas am Grab (Johannes 20,11-18), die zwischen karfreitäglicher Verzweiflung und österlichem Trost schwankt. Teil I (Futhark Nr. 4): Ausgangspunkt (I.) ist die (aus dem späten 12. oder frühen 13. Jahrhundert stammende) lateinische Predigt des Ps.-Origenes, die in Europa weite Verbreitung und zahlreiche Bearbeitungen fand. Die deutschen poetischen Bearbeitungen (II: ‘Der Saelden Hort’, Heinrichs von Neustadt ‘Von Gottes Zukunft’, ‘Bairische Magdalenenklage’) stellen die Heldin in den Mittelpunkt und akzentuieren den Trauer-Diskurs im Sinne öffentlich sichtbarer Gebärden der Trauer. Teil II: Die genuinen deutschen Predigten (III. Meister Eckhart, Marquard von Lindau) eröffnen den Horizont der Mystik (Einung mit Gott sunder mittel), eine lateinische Predigt des tschechischen Reformers Milič von Kremsier – auch in deutscher Übertragung überliefert – stellt den Apell gegen Sünde und für ein gottgefälliges Leben in den Vordergrund. Die deutschen Prosaübersetzungen des 15. Jahrhunderts (IV.) entstehen im Zusammenhang der Klosterreformen (anonymer dominikanischer [?] Nürnberger ‘Magdalenenlibellus’, der Kartäuser Heinrich Haller, die Zisterzienserin Regula, der benediktinische Laienbruder Lienhart Peuger) und beziehen die Situation auf die Situation im Kloster. Ein letzter Punkt (V.) bietet eine Zusammenschau der Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten des Textes und der ‘Spielarten geistlicher Trauer’.
La espiritualidad de Pascal: los tres órdenes de realidad: cuerpo, espíritu, caridad.
Authors: Villar Ezcurra Alicia
Published: June 2021

Los escritos espirituales y los fragmentos dedicados a los tres órdenes de la realidad muestran que el pesimismo antropológico de Pascal no fue su última palabra. Es cierto que odia el endiosamiento del yo que hace que cada individuo se crea el centro de todo, y también que hay en él una llamada a la ascética y al desapego, propia de la espiritualidad de su tiempo que le aleja del lector contemporáneo. Sin embargo, en su espiritualidad cristocéntrica, con atisbos de misticismo, hay lugar para la esperanza y la alegría. Los fragmentos sobre los tres órdenes muestran el valor definitivo que asignó el orden de la caridad, subrayando el dinamismo espiritual de la afectividad, y apostando por el amor sin medida a lo eterno frente al sentimiento de trágica derrota
La ontología del imaginario: una aproximación bachelardiana a sus estructuras en diálogo con Goethe y Gilbert Durand.
Authors: Martínez Moreno Arturo
Published: June 2021

Sabemos que la imaginación es la facultad de representar un objeto en la intuición incluso cuando este no está presente. Intuimos que la imaginación está en la base de todo conocimiento a priori, que media entre la sensibilidad y el entendimiento, o que recoge la información dada por la intuición para hacer una síntesis con ella que posibilite el conocimiento, pero ignoramos el alcance de sus funciones simbólicas y la relación que estos caracteres puedan mantener con el imaginario. En este estudio pondremos en relación la filosofía de la imaginación en Gaston Bachelard con los planteamientos de Goethe y Gilbert Durand
Contextual Complications in Analytical Modeling: When the Problem is Not the Problem
Authors: Gorman Michael F.
Published: June 2021

In this essay, I describe 10 critical complicating factors that directly affect the six basic modeling components of problem definition, assumptions, decision variables, objective functions, constraints, and solution approach. The proposed 10 contextual complicating factors are (1) organization, (2) decision-making processes, (3) measures and key performance indicators, (4) rational and irrational biases, (5) decision horizon and interval, (6) data availability, accuracy, fidelity, and latency, (7) legacy and other computer systems, (8) organizational and individual risk tolerance, (9) clarity of model and method, and (10) implementability and sustainability of the approach. I hypothesize that the core analytical problem cannot be adequately described or usefully solved without careful consideration of these factors. I describe detailed examples of these contextual factors’ effects on modeling from six published applied prescriptive analytics projects and provide other examples from the literature. The complicating factors are pervasive in these projects, directly and dramatically affecting basic modeling components over half the time. Further, in the presence of these factors, 23 statistically significant correlations tend to form in three clusters, which I characterize as culture, decision, and project clusters. Unrecognized, these factors would have hampered the implementation and ongoing use of these analytical models; in a sense, the models themselves were wrong, absent consideration of these contextual considerations. With these insights, I hope to help practitioners identify the effects of these common complications and avoid project failure by incorporating these contextual factors into their modeling considerations. Future research could seek to better understand these factors and their effects on modeling.
Variational Analysis of Composite Models with Applications to Continuous Optimization
Authors: Mohammadi Ashkan , Mordukhovich Boris S. , Sarabi M. Ebrahim
Published: June 2021

The paper is devoted to a comprehensive study of composite models in variational analysis and optimization the importance of which for numerous theoretical, algorithmic, and applied issues of operations research is difficult to overstate. The underlying theme of our study is a systematical replacement of conventional metric regularity and related requirements by much weaker metric subregulatity ones that lead us to significantly stronger and completely new results of first-order and second-order variational analysis and optimization. In this way, we develop extended calculus rules for first-order and second-order generalized differential constructions while paying the main attention in second-order variational theory to the new and rather large class of fully subamenable compositions. Applications to optimization include deriving enhanced no-gap second-order optimality conditions in constrained composite models, complete characterizations of the uniqueness of Lagrange multipliers, strong metric subregularity of Karush-Kuhn-Tucker systems in parametric optimization, and so on.
una isla llamada serendipia: definiciones ético pedagógicas en el proyecto filosofar con niñxs.
Authors: Andrade Sergio Raúl
Published: June 2021

This text proposes some lines of reflection and action related to a project that links philosophy and childhood, whose pedagogical and investigative activity has been developed in the province of Córdoba, Argentina, for more than twenty-five years. To do this we recover an experience of workshops with children and adults, in a continuous process of reflection on childhood and how children think about themselves. That experience focuses on imagining a particular space and time – living together on an island where adults cannot be found--and from there question the forms of decision making and participation – of political action – that children perform in the territories they inhabit. Here it is proposed that the circumstance of incompleteness regarding issues such as politics and sexuality encompass all age situations and, therefore, it is more appropriate to let ourselves be traversed by restlessness and doubt than to accept a preconceived world in which problems quickly find answers, and what you do not know or cannot be located in a fixed category is unknown, ignored, or remains hidden. We propose to start by not postulating any pre-conceived notions regarding childhoods--thinking of them as hypotheses with unexplored names, bodies and thoughts to get to know. Likewise, it is assumed that reflection on teaching practice relocates philosophy teachers as intellectuals who keep universal explanations in their “professorial pockets,” and reinvent themselves by dealing with specific problems, the small discoveries one makes through exchanges with others--those others that, as in the case of children, there is much to learn about and from. This is the ethical and political task that emerges from a continuous reflection on shared action. Welcome, then, to the island where everything is to be decided and participated in, the island of Serendipity.
Ways of coining reduplicated idioms
Authors:   Lviv Ivan Franko National University, Kinash L. Y.
Published: June 2021

The article focuses on the phenomenon of reduplication on the idiomatic level. Reduplicated idioms are characterized by emotional coloring, expressiveness and peculiar rhythmic melodies, they serve as a means of creating emotional expressions by giving some stylistic coloring to the context in which they are used. The groups of reduplicated idioms have been chosen from lexicographical sources, created by means of onomatopoeia, lexical repetitions in singular and plural, with linking elements (conjunctions, particles) or without them. Their belonging to the morphological class of nouns, verbs, adjectives in the comparative and superlative degree of comparison, numerals, pronouns and exclamations has been established. Their inherent positive and negative connotations, the correlation with various spheres of human activity have been proved. The way of creating reduplicated idioms has been demonstrated to be productive – the alternation of vowels and consonants at the beginning and at the end of the repetition. Such word-forming processes as conversion, affixation and reduplication have taken an active part in the creation of reduplicated idioms, and in most cases transformations of forms are accompanied by semantic derivation. It has been confirmed that the practical value of the study is, first of all, that the selected examples of reduplicated idioms can be used in classes on lexicology, stylistics and serve as material for further research. We see the prospect of further research in the study of the effectiveness of the affix potential for the creation of reduplicated idioms, particularly the use of ablaut reduplication, rhyming compounds, fully reduplicated echoic expressions in different discourses.
Total intravenous anaesthesia
Authors: Jones Conor , Harris Joseph
Published: June 2021

Advances in pharmacokinetic understanding have popularised the safe and effective use of total intravenous anaesthesia delivered by continuous infusion. This article explores why the practical and outcome benefits have made total intravenous anaesthesia an increasingly accepted alternative to use of inhalational agents.
A Comparison of Male and Female Saudi School Principals’ Perspectives of Instructional Leadership
Authors: Vogel Linda R. , Alhudithi Ahlam , Alsliman Abdulmohsen
Published: June 2021

A qualitative study examining female and male Saudi principals’ perceptions of instructional leadership was conducted using an electronic survey. While teacher supervision and supporting new instructional strategies were themes that emerged from the data from both genders, the female participants provided more detail on what they personally did in both areas and identified more altruistic personal virtues that they felt instructional leaders should model. Female Saudi principals also identified active problem-solving as part of their instructional leadership as compared to male Saudi principals who reported directing school improvement efforts through their leadership team. Theories of instructional leadership were developed for each gender from participant responses that indicate that female Saudi principals define and enact instructional leadership in more relational and interactive terms than their male counterparts.
Game of Thrones, Game of Class Struggle, or Other Games? Revisiting the Dobb–Sweezy Debate
Authors: Lambert Thomas E.
Published: June 2021

In 1946, the economist Maurice Dobb published a book that attempted to explain how feudalism gave way to capitalism. Dobb's book began a debate among economists and historians that has continued until this day. Dobb thought that feudalism went into decline and was replaced by capitalism because of endogenous causes rooted in the class struggles between serfs and noblemen. An early and prominent critic, Paul M. Sweezy, thought that the factors which led to the decline of feudalism and rise of capitalism were exogenous, and these factors included the development and growth of international trade, production for markets and money, the growth and importance of cities, and the need for European monarchies to unite their kingdoms and to finance their wars and overseas empires. This paper does some preliminary empirical testing of these hypotheses using data from Britain from the 1200s to the 1800s. The findings of this paper are informative in trying to better understand the debate and provide some food for thought on how capitalism may change in the future.
How China Succeeded in the COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention and Control: Interview with Associate Professor Leijie Wei, Editor of Waiting for Dawn: 21 Diaries From 16 COVID-19 Frontlines
Authors: Wei Leijie , Chen Shuoying
Published: June 2021

The book Waiting for Dawn: 21 Diaries from 16 COVID-19 Frontlines takes a global perspective, examining the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on governments and the public around the world. Associate Professor Leijie Wei, editor of the book, believes that the reasons why mandatory tracking, testing, and quarantine measures have been effectively implemented in China center on the unified leadership provided by the Communist Party of China (CPC), the active response by state-owned enterprises and institutions, and the full trust of the majority of the public in the government's anti-pandemic measures. In an effort to win elections, meanwhile, politicians in Europe and the United States are politicizing the pandemic and making China a scapegoat. In contrast to socialist China's policy of ensuring all those in need are hospitalized with free testing and treatment, the essentially capitalist public health models applied in most Western countries have brought more concrete and explicit class conflict, and the drawn-out pandemic in the West has exacerbated various forms of social injustice. The COVID-19 epidemic is a reminder that a country's governance ability should not be judged on the basis of simplistic conceptions of democracy, and that the needs of Mother Earth must be considered in the collective building of a community of shared future for humankind.
Distinguishing between coherent and incoherent signals in excitation-emission spectroscopy
Authors: Lünemann Daniel C. , Thomas Anitta R. , Xu Jingjing , Bartölke Rabea , Mouritsen Henrik , De Sio Antonietta , Lienau Christoph
Published: June 2021

The separation of incoherent emission signals from coherent light scattering often poses a challenge in (time-resolved) microscopy or excitation-emission spectroscopy. While in spectro-microscopy with narrowband excitation this is commonly overcome using spectral filtering, it is less straightforward when using broadband Fourier-transform techniques that are now becoming commonplace in, e.g., single molecule or ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy. Here we show that such a separation is readily achieved using highly stable common-path interferometers for both excitation and detection. The approach is demonstrated for suppression of scattering from flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and weakly emissive cryptochrome 4 (Cry4) protein samples. We expect that the approach will be beneficial, e.g., for fluorescence lifetime or Raman-based imaging and spectroscopy of various samples, including single quantum emitters.
Plasmon-enabled spectrally narrow ultraviolet luminescence device using Pt nanoparticles covered one microwire-based heterojunction
Authors: Ma Kunjie , Li Binghui , Zhou Xiangbo , Jiang Mingming , Liu Yang , Kan Caixia
Published: June 2021

Owing to great luminescent monochromaticity, high stability, and independent of automatic color filter, low dimensional ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) via the hyperpure narrow band have attracted considerable interest for fabricating miniatured display equipments, solid state lighting sources, and other ultraviolet photoelectrical devices. In this study, a near-ultraviolet LED composed of one Ga-doped ZnO microwire (ZnO:Ga MW) and p-GaN layer was fabricated. The diode can exhibit bright electroluminescence (EL) peaking at 400.0 nm, with a line width of approximately 35 nm. Interestingly, by introducing platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs), we achieved an ultraviolet plasmonic response; an improved EL, including significantly enhanced light output; an observed blueshift of main EL peaks of 377.0 nm; and a reduction of line width narrowing to 10 nm. Working as a powerful scalpel, the decoration of PtNPs can be employed to tailor the spectral line profiles of the ultraviolet EL performances. Also, a rational physical model was built up, which could help us study the carrier transportation, recombination of electrons and holes, and dynamic procedure of luminescence. This method offers a simple and feasible way, without complicated fabricating technology such as an added insulating layer or core shell structure, to realize hyperpure ultraviolet LED. Therefore, the proposed engineering of energy band alignment by introducing PtNPs can be employed to build up high performance, high spectral purity luminescent devices in the short wavelengths.
Modulating the polarization of broadband terahertz pulses from a spintronic emitter at rates up to 10 kHz
Authors: Gueckstock Oliver , Nádvorník Lukáš , Seifert Tom S. , Borchert Martin , Jakob Gerhard , Schmidt Georg , Woltersdorf Georg , Kläui Mathias , Wolf Martin , Kampfrath Tobias
Published: June 2021

Reliable modulation of terahertz electromagnetic waveforms is important for many applications. Here, we rapidly modulate the direction of the electric field of linearly polarized terahertz electromagnetic pulses with 1–30 THz bandwidth by applying time-dependent magnetic fields to a spintronic terahertz emitter. Polarity modulation of the terahertz field with more than 99% contrast at a rate of 10 kHz is achieved using a harmonic magnetic field. By adding a static magnetic field, we modulate the direction of the terahertz field between angles of, for instance, −53° and 53° at kilohertz rates. We believe our approach makes spintronic terahertz emitters a promising source for low-noise modulation spectroscopy and polarization-sensitive techniques such as ellipsometry at 1–30 THz.
Negative refraction of ultra-squeezed in-plane hyperbolic designer polaritons
Authors: Chen Qiaolu , Yang Yihao , Zhang Li , Chen Jialin , Li Min , Lin Xiao , Li Rujiang , Wang Zuojia , Zhang Baile , Chen Hongsheng
Published: June 2021

The in-plane negative refraction of high-momentum (i.e., high-

k

) photonic modes could enable many applications such as imaging, focusing, and waveguiding in a planar platform at deep-subwavelength scales. However, its practical implementation in experiments remains elusive so far. Here we propose a class of hyperbolic metasurfaces, which is characterized by an anisotropic magnetic sheet conductivity and can support the in-plane ultra-high-

k

magnetic designer polaritons. Based on such metasurfaces, we report the experimental observation of the all-angle negative refraction of designer polaritons at extremely deep-subwavelength scales. Moreover, we directly visualize the designer polaritons with hyperbolic dispersions. Importantly, for these hyperbolic polaritons, we find that their squeezing factor is ultra-large. To be specific, it can be up to 129 in the experiments, an ultra-high value exceeding those in naturally hyperbolic materials. This work may pave a way toward exploring the extremely high confinement and unusual propagation of magnetic designer polaritons over monolayer or twisted bilayer hyperbolic metasurfaces.
Bacillus velezensis strain MBY2, a potential agent for the management of crown gall disease
Authors: Ben Gharsa Haifa , Bouri Meriam , Mougou Hamdane Amira , Schuster Christina , Leclerque Andreas , Rhouma Ali
Published: June 2021

The reduction of the use chemical pesticides in agriculture is gaining importance as an objective of decision-makers in both politics and economics. Consequently, the development of technically efficient and economically affordable alternatives as, e.g., biological control agents or practices is highly solicited. Crown gall disease of dicotyledonous plants is caused by ubiquitous soil borne pathogenic bacteria of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens species complex, that comprises the species Agrobacterium fabrum and represents a globally relevant plant protection problem. Within the framework of a screening program for bacterial Agrobacterium antagonists a total of 14 strains were isolated from Tunisian soil samples and assayed for antagonistic activity against pathogenic agrobacteria. One particularly promising isolate, termed strain MBY2, was studied more in depth. Using a Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) approach, the isolate was assigned to the taxonomic species Bacillus velezensis. Strain MBY2 was shown to display antagonistic effects against the pathogenic A. fabrum strain C58 in vitro and to significantly decrease pathogen populations under sterile and non-sterile soil conditions as well as in the rhizosphere of maize and, to a lower extent, tomato plants. Moreover, the ability of B. velezensis MBY2 to reduce C58-induced gall development has been demonstrated in vivo on stems of tomato and almond plants. The present study describes B. velezensis MBY2 as a newly discovered strain holding potential as a biological agent for crown gall disease management.
SARS-CoV-2 screening among people living in homeless shelters in Brussels, Belgium
Authors: Roland Michel , Ben Abdelhafidh Louisa , Déom Victoria , Vanbiervliet Frank , Coppieters Yves , Racapé Judith
Published: June 2021

Background

Subgroups of precarious populations such as homeless people are more exposed to infection and at higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19 compared to the general population. Many of the recommended prevention measures, such as social distancing and self-isolation, are not feasible for a population living in shelters characterised by physical proximity and a high population density. The objective of the study was to describe SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence in homeless shelters in Brussels (Belgium), and to identify risk factors and infection control practices associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates.

Methods

A total of 1994 adults were tested by quantitative PCR tests in 52 shelters in Brussels (Belgium) between April and June, 2020, in collaboration with Doctors of the World. SARS-CoV-2 prevalence is here described site by site, and we identify risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates. We also investigate associations between seropositivity and reported symptoms.

Results

We found an overall prevalence of 4.6% for the period, and a cluster of high rates of SARS-CoV-2 positivity (20–30% in two shelters). Among homeless people, being under 40 years of age (OR (CI95%) 2.3 (1.2–4.4), p = 0.02), having access to urgent medical care (AMU) (OR(CI95%): 2.4 (1.4–4.4)], p = 0.02), and sharing a room with someone who tested positive (OR(CI95%): 5.3 (2.9–9.9), p<0.0001) were factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates. 93% of those who tested positive were asymptomatic.

Conclusion

This study shows high rates of SARS-COV-2 infection positive tests in some shelters, with a high proportion of asymptomatic cases. The survey reveals how important testing and isolation measures are, together with actions taken by medical and social workers during the outbreak.
Disability, pain, and wound-specific concerns self-reported by adults at risk of limb loss: A cross-sectional study using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0
Authors: Roberts Derek J. , Nagpal Sudhir K. , Forster Alan J. , Brandys Timothy , Murphy Christine , Jennings Alison , Strauss Shira A. , Vishnyakova Evgeniya , Lawson Julie , McIsaac Daniel I.
Published: June 2021

Introduction

There has been limited study of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients at risk of limb loss. Our primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of disability in this patient population using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0).

Materials and methods

We recruited patients referred to a limb-preservation clinic. Patients self-reported their disability status using the 12-domain WHODAS 2.0. Severity of disability in each domain was scored from 1 = none to 5 = extreme and the total normalized to a 100-point scale (total score ≥25 = clinically significant disability). We also asked patients about wound-specific concerns and wound-related discomfort or distress.

Results

We included 162 patients. Reasons for clinic referral included arterial-insufficient (37.4%), postoperative (25.9%), and mixed etiology (10.8%) wounds. The mean WHODAS 2.0 disability score was 35.0 (standard deviation = 16.0). One-hundred-and-nineteen (73.5%) patients had clinically significant disability. Patients reported they had the greatest difficulty walking a long distance (mean score = 4.2), standing for long periods of time (mean score = 3.6), taking care of household responsibilities (mean score = 2.7), and dealing with the emotional impact of their health problems (mean score = 2.5). In the two-weeks prior to presentation, 87 (52.7%) patients expressed concern over their wound(s) and 90 (55.6%) suffered a moderate amount or great deal of wound-related discomfort or distress. In adjusted ordinary least squares regression models, although WHODAS 2.0 disability scores varied with changes in wound volume (p = 0.03) and total revised photographic wound assessment tool scores (p<0.001), the largest decrease in disability severity was seen in patients with less wound-specific concerns and wound-related discomfort and distress.

Discussion

The majority of people at risk of limb loss report suffering a substantial burden of disability, pain, and wound-specific concerns. Research is needed to further evaluate the WHODAS 2.0 in a multicenter fashion among these patients and determine whether care and interventions may improve their PROs.
Teaching tourism in the Anthropocene: New technologies, fieldwork, and student involvement
Authors: Ricart Sandra , Amelung Bas
Published: June 2021

Humanity has affected almost every ecosystem on Earth; it has even changed how the Earth works, ushering in a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. Climate change, biodiversity loss and the growing plastic soup in the oceans are all facets of this new epoch. Tourism is a main force behind the emergence of the Anthropocene and is also greatly impacted by it. To learn to live within the Earth’s bounds requires a paradigm change that transcends the ‘old ways of doing things’. Education offers our best chance of endowing new generations of professionals with the knowledge and skills to bring this paradigm change about, also in tourism. This Special Issue provides examples of methods, tools, and approaches to address environmental challenges and sustainable gaps in tourism education. The collection of articles emphasises the relevance of new technologies, fieldwork, and student involvement as building blocks for new teaching paradigms in response to the environmental challenges and tourism dynamics occurring in the Anthropocene.
Avance al estudio de las cerámicas pertenecientes al Neolítico antiguo avanzado de los Castillejos (Montefrío, Granada)
Authors: Blázquez González María Teresa
Published: June 2021

El contenido de este artículo es un avance del estudio que se está realizando de las cerámicas decoradas pertenecientes a las cuatro primeras fases del periodo I de la estratigrafía del yacimiento conocido como Los Castillejos (Montefrío, Granada), es decir, de la fase que ha sido datada dentro del Neolítico Antiguo Avanzado (5400-5150 cal a. C.). Dicho estudio se inició motivado por el interés de analizar las piezas cerámicas de esta etapa que habían sido localizadas en las excavaciones realizadas entre 1991 y 1994, y que habían permanecido inéditas hasta la fecha. Con este fin y para estudiar la tecnología cerámica se ha utilizado una metodología que abarca el estudio historiográfico del yacimiento, la localización, cuantificación y pesado de las piezas, el escaneado y dibujo de las cerámicas, el estudio de las decoraciones y otras características de las arcillas y piezas, así como analíticas de laboratorio cuyos resultados serán publicados en un futuro.
Una adaptación de un mito gnóstico con intención formativa en la antigüedad tardía: los demonios del capítulo 65 de la Vita Antonii de Atanasio de Alejandría
Authors: Fuertes Francisco Javier
Published: June 2021

Buscando profundizar en la demonología cristiana tardoantigua, el trabajo analiza un ambiguo pasaje de la Vita Antonii de Atanasio de Alejandría donde se narra la ascensión del alma de Antonio a los cielos y su encuentro con unos seres “terribles”. El autor parte de los trabajos de J. Daniélou sobre las potencias aéreas y su papel en las distintas variantes del mito gnóstico del ascenso del alma a través de los diferentes cielos. A partir de ahí, el autor profundiza en el análisis del pasaje, aportando diversos paralelos textuales. Termina adhiriéndose a las perspectivas de D. Brakke sobre las teorías ascéticas de Atanasio para defender finalmente que dichos “seres” podrían identificarse con los «arcontes», término de connotaciones heterodoxas que el obispo habría silenciado en sus esfuerzos para inculcar en los fieles la idea de que lo realmente necesario para alcanzar la salvación era un comportamiento moral virtuoso.