bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Correlates of participation restrictions and quality of life among Hausa women with post-stroke disabilities
Authors: Lawan Muhammad Muhammad , Lawal Isa Usman , Yusuf Ali Maryam
Published: December 2022

Background

Almost all health professionals refer and use the term participation restrictions in activities of daily living as one of the successful outcomes of stroke rehabilitation. Higher occurrences of stroke-related functional disability among women who suffer stroke tend to affect their quality of life, participation in, and reintegration into the community in general. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the correlation of participation restrictions and quality of life of Hausa women post-stroke event.

Method

This study employed a cross-sectional design; 67 post-stroke patients were recruited and assessed for participation using Stoke Impact Scale (SIS 3.0), quality of life was assessed using SSQOL, and MRS was used to assess post-stroke disabilities.

Results

Findings of this study indicate participation to be significantly related to quality of life (r = 0.801, P = 0.000). Participation was significantly related to limb strength (r = 0.606, P = 0.000), mood and emotions (r = 0.399, P = 0.001), ADL (r = 0.733, P = 0.000), mobility (r = 0.564, P = 0.000), and hand function (r = 0.687, P = 0.000). Recovery from stroke was found to be a determinant of participation (r = 0.624, P = 0.000).

Conclusion

Correlates of participation in Hausa women who suffered stroke are quality of life, strength, mood and emotions, ADL, mobility, hand function, and level of recovery from stroke. Both participation and quality of life also inversely correlated significantly with demographic factors of age and stroke severity.
Spaces between insects in laboratory swarms move like insects in natural swarms
Authors: Reynolds Andy M.
Published: December 2022

Sparse swarms of flying insects show a high degree of spatial cohesion and are a form of collective animal behaviour; albeit one different from flocks and schools as they do not display ordered collective movements and under quiescent (laboratory) conditions long-range correlations are also absent. A better understanding of these outliers of collective behaviour may help to answer a long-standing open question in collective behaviour studies, namely: What is the signature that a group is “collective”? Even though dilute swarms of flying insects are mostly empty space no studies have reported on the dynamics of the spaces between swarming insects. Here I show that the spaces between insects (i.e., the centroids of empty tetrahedra formed by individuals and their 3 nearest neighbours) in laboratory swarms exhibit long-range (maximal) correlations and novel dynamic scaling in common with insects in natural swarms. Spaces within laboratory swarms therefore move like insects in natural swarms. I thereby unify seemingly disparate behaviours as long range correlations between individuals are absent in laboratory swarms but present in natural swarms. With the aid of stochastic trajectory models of non-interacting insects I show that long-range (maximal) correlations and the novel dynamic scaling arise generally and are not indicative of fine tuning. These results call for a re-evaluation of the importance of correlations and scaling in collective behaviours.
Observation of grey cesium tin bromide with unusual phase transition
Authors: Singh Swarnima , Kumar Manish , Jha Pardeep K. , Jha Priyanka A. , Singh Prabhakar
Published: December 2022

A new grey colour polymorph of CsSnBr3 with non-cubic phase at 295(±1) K is observed. Contrary to black and yellow polymorphs, it seems that not only the β-α transition at 292 K shifted to 304 K but also the new β
3-phase with second-order phase transition (β
2-β
3) can be seen in this new grey polymorph. The structural refinement shows the monoclinic

phase with holohedry for β
3-CsSnBr3 against the group-subgroup theory. However, the parameters

and

are suggesting pseudo-tetragonality for β
3-CsSnBr3.
An Afropessimist, Antidisciplinary Rejoinder to History, Its Human, and Its Anti-Blackness
Authors: Ponton David
Published: December 2022

Scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds have been critical of history’s vision of itself as grounded in empiricism, its function as a secularist theodicy, and its commitment to humanism. Meanwhile, Black studies has exposed the Human as a sociopolitical construction masquerading as mere ontological fact. Yet historians remain committed to the fiction as if it were fact, occluding the ways that narrating the Human requires evading full recognition of the ubiquity and permanence of anti-Blackness in the modern world. Indeed, this article argues, this is the unstated function of history, conceived here as a discipline, or constraint, on what it is possible for historians to think and register as significant as they bring order to chaos in the form of narrative. Against empiricism and the humanist compulsion to explain suffering rather than abide in its meaninglessness, this article suggests an embrace of antidisciplinarity. By shifting perspective through Afropessimism, embracing methods such as critical fabulation, and inventing the past through cross-disciplinary borrowing, autobiography, and explicit empathy, the article demonstrates the implications of an antidisciplinary approach to historical inquiry. It engages the historiography and archives related to the Houston Police Department’s attack on Texas Southern University students in 1967 and in doing so exposes the incoherence of historiography that speaks of peace in an anti-Black world and that relies on an ontological certainty of the Human as a simple fact of existence, alongside its attendant codes, specifically those of linear time, gender subjectivity, and agency.
The Surprise
Authors: Raffoul François
Published: December 2022

In his ontology of the singular plural, Jean-Luc Nancy makes the claim that nothing preexists the event of being: no principle, arche, or prior substance. With such a statement, a thinking of the event emerges: not preceded by any principle or ground, and no longer referred to any prior substance, being is nothing but the event of itself. Thus preceded by nothing and grounded in no essence, the event of being can only come as a surprise. This essay explores Nancy’s thinking of the event as surprise. Indeed, for Nancy, far from being an occasional accompaniment of an event, the surprise is a constitutive feature of the event. An event, he states, is surprising, or it is not an event. In the end, as Nancy puts it, thinking the event, the surprise of the event or the event as surprise, will amount to thinking being surprised, or “over-taken” (sur-prise) by the event, for the event always exceeds thinking while also each time happening to it.
Sense, Orientation, and World Creation
Authors: Inston Kevin
Published: December 2022

This article stages a dialogue between Jean-Luc Nancy’s postphenomenology and Sara Ahmed’s queer phenomenology to examine the conditions, ethos, and politics of world creation as well as the habits, obstacles, and inequalities that resist it. It argues that Nancy’s understanding of sense as the event of the mutual exposure of bodies reveals what exceeds dominant worldviews, how bodies extend the world beyond prevailing spatializations, but that it does not sufficiently examine what prevents us from sensing that event as a call to world creation. Conversely, Ahmed analyzes how the spatial orientation of bodies restricts exposure, causes uneven access to the world, and suppresses Nancean sense. Her account of disorientation illuminates how we could experience the world as ungrounded and susceptible to creation but struggles to explain what would enable the sharing of this event so that it does not reconfirm the dominant orientations of whiteness and heterosexuality. Reframing disorientation in terms of Nancy’s relational ontology and its spatial conception of justice rethinks the nonalignment of bodies and spaces as freeing the circulation of sense so that alternative worlds could appear. In this way, disorientation can be read as potentially opening the passage from injustice to justice, from orientation to creation.
OsFLZ2 interacts with OsMADS51 to fine-tune rice flowering time
Authors: Ma Yamei , Dong Jingfang , Yang Wu , Chen Luo , Wu Wei , Li Wenhui , Zhou Lian , Wang Jian , Chen Jiansong , Yang Tifeng , Zhang Shaohong , Zhao Junliang , Liu Bin
Published: December 2022

Flowering time is an important agronomic trait affecting crop yield. FCS-LIKE ZINC FINGER (FLZ) proteins are plant-specific regulatory proteins that are involved in multiple biological processes. However, their roles in plant flowering time control have not been clarified. Here, we report that OsFLZ2 is a negative regulator of rice flowering time. OsFLZ2 delays flowering by repressing the expression of key floral integrator genes. Biochemical assays showed OsFLZ2 physically interacts with OsMADS51, a flowering activator under short-day (SD) conditions. Both OsFLZ2 and OsMADS51 are highly expressed in rice leaves before floral transition under natural SD conditions, and their proteins are colocalized in the nucleus. Co-expression of OsFLZ2 can destabilize OsMADS51 and weaken its transcriptional activation of the downstream target gene Early heading date 1 (Ehd1). Taken together, these results indicate that OsFLZ2 can interfere with the function of OsMADS51 to fine-tune rice flowering time.
Rehearsal and Performance Volume in Professional Ballet: A Five-Season Cohort Study
Authors: Shaw Joseph W. , Mattiussi Adam M. , Brown Derrick D. , Williams Sean , Springham Matthew , Pedlar Charles R. , Tallent Jamie
Published: December 2022

Introduction: Few studies have published data concerning the longitudinal rehearsal and performance demands experienced by professional ballet dancers. We aimed to describe the rehearsal and performance volumes undertaken across five professional ballet seasons and identify factors associated with inter-dancer and inter-production variation in dance hours. Methods: Scheduling data were collected from 123 dancers over five seasons at The Royal Ballet. Linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate differences in: 1. weekly dance hours and seasonal performance counts across sexes, company ranks, and months; and 2. factors associated with the variation in rehearsal hours required to stage different productions. Results: On average across the five seasons, a peak in performance volume was observed in December, whereas rehearsal hours peaked in October and November and between January and April. Differences in weekly dance hours were observed between company ranks (p < 0.001, range in means: 19.1 to 27.5 hours per week). Seasonal performance counts varied across company ranks (p < 0.001), ranging from 28 (95% CI: 22, 35) in principals to 113 (95% CI: 108, 118) in the rank of artist. Rehearsal durations were considerably greater in preparation for newly created ballets compared with existing ballets (77.8 vs. 37.5 hours). Rehearsal durations were also greater in preparation for longer ballets, with each additional minute of running time associated with a 0.43 hour increase in rehearsal duration (p < 0.001). Full-length ballets, however, were consistently the most time-efficient to stage due to their long performance runs compared with shorter ballets (16.2 vs. 7.4 performances).Conclusions: Training principles such as progressive overload and periodization should be implemented in professional ballet companies to manage the high and variable rehearsal and performance loads.
Hip Hop Party Dance: Cardiorespiratory Profile and Responses to a Predefined Sequence
Authors: Machado Prates Claudia , Tsiouti Nefeli , de Oliveira Fagundes Alex , Reichert Thaís , Wyon Matthew , Nogueira Haas Aline
Published: December 2022

Hip hop is a popular dance genre practiced worldwide that has gained popularity since the 1970s. Despite this, studies related to the area and its physiological demands are still scarce. The purpose of this study was to report the cardiorespiratory profile of a group of male and female hip hop dancers to determine the zones of intensity of a predefined hip hop party dance sequence. Eight Brazilian professional hip hop dancers, four women and four men, mean age 22 ± 2.3 years, participated in the study. Using a portable gas analyser (Cosmed K5) their cardiorespiratory variables were measured at two different times: first, during a maximal treadmill test and later during a predefined hip hop party dance sequence. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used for calculating the dependent variables: oxygen consumption (VO2), heart rate (HR), and the intensity zones for the predefined hip hop sequence. Data normality was verified using the Shapiro-Wilk test. The Mann-Whitney U-test was performed to check any sex-related difference (p < 0.01). No statistical difference between male and female dancers was found in the cardiorespiratory profile and responses to the predefined hip hop party dance sequence. On the treadmill, the participants’ VO2peak was 57.3 ± 12.7 ml·kg-1·min-1, and HRmax was 190.0 ± 9.1 b·min-1. The predefined hip hop party dance sequence was mainly (61%) performed in the moderate aerobic zone. However, when the dancers jumped, the intensity of the sequence increased. This information could be used to develop a specific supplementary training protocols for hip hop dancers to improve their physiological fitness parameters and reduce the incidence of injury.
Συντελεστές 8ου τεύχους (2022)
Authors: Λενακάκης Αντώνης
Published: December 2022

Συντελεστές 8ου τεύχους
Διερευνώντας τη διαφοροποίηση της διδασκαλίας στο μάθημα των Γερμανικών ως απάντηση στην ετερογένεια
Authors: Τσακαλίδου Σοφία Π.
Published: December 2022

Η διαφοροποιημένη διδασκαλία σέβεται τη διαφορετικότητα και ανταποκρίνεται στις ανάγκες όλων των μαθητών/τριών με αποτέλεσμα να μεγιστοποιήσει τις ευκαιρίες μάθησης για όλους/ες. Παρόλα αυτά  η αποτελεσματικότητά της στερείται ερευνητικής τεκμηρίωσης, ενώ τα τελευταία χρόνια γίνονται προσπάθειες διερεύνησής της στο ελληνικό εκπαιδευτικό πλαίσιο. Στο παρόν άρθρο θα εξετάσουμε τα αποτελέσματα έρευνας που πραγματοποιήθηκε κατά το σχολικό έτος 2021/2022  σε 135 εκπαιδευτικούς Γερμανικής, διερευνώντας τους τρόπους που επιλέγουν να διαχειριστούν τη διαφορετικότητα στο πλαίσιο της τάξης, όπως τη διαφοροποίηση της διδασκαλίας. Επίσης, εξετάζεται κατά πόσο έχουν επιμορφωθεί σε σχετικά ζητήματα ή έχουν παρακολουθήσει μαθήματα σε σχέση με τη διαφοροποίηση της διδασκαλίας και τη διαχείριση της ετερογένειας στο πλαίσιο των σπουδών τους. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας συμβάλλουν στη σκιαγράφηση της κατάστασης που βιώνουν οι εκπαιδευτικοί της Γερμανικής στην καθημερινή πράξη ως προς τον παράγοντα της ετερογένειας και αναδεικνύουν την ανάγκη για συνεχή επιμόρφωση και τροποποίηση της διδασκαλίας, με σκοπό να καλυφθούν οι ανάγκες όλων των μαθητών/τριών τους. Συμπερασματικά, τα αποτελέσματα αυτά θα μπορούσαν να αξιοποιηθούν στην πράξη από τις αρμόδιες υπηρεσίες του Υπουργείου Παιδείας και Θρησκευμάτων, με σκοπό να δημιουργήσουν αποτελεσματικότερα προγράμματα σπουδών για το μάθημα της Β΄ ξένης γλώσσας, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη ότι το υπάρχον ωράριο (δύο διδακτικές ώρες ανά τάξη) είναι περιορισμένο, γεγονός που δημιουργεί εξαιρετικά δύσκολες εργασιακές συνθήκες για τους/τις εκπαιδευτικούς Γερμανικής, εφόσον υποχρεούνται να μετακινηθούν σε πέντε ή και περισσότερες σχολικές μονάδες για να συμπληρώσουν το υποχρεωτικό τους ωράριο. Επίσης, οι λίγες διδακτικές ώρες διαφαίνονται ανεπαρκείς για να μπορέσουν οι μαθητές/ήτριες να κατακτήσουν την ξένη γλώσσα στο σχολικό πλαίσιο σε ικανοποιητικό βαθμό με απώτερο στόχο την απόκτηση σχετικής πιστοποίησης.
Χωρικές και κοινωνικές επιπτώσεις της Airbnb βραχυχρόνιας μίσθωσης ακινήτων στην πόλη της Αθήνας
Authors: Μπαλαμπανίδης Δημήτρης , Παπατζανή Εύα (Ευαγγελία) , Πέττας Δημήτρης
Published: December 2022

H Airbnb βραχυχρόνια μίσθωση ακινήτων στην Ελλάδα αναπτύσσεται με ραγδαίους ρυθμούς τα τελευταία χρόνια, στο πλαίσιο της αυξανόμενης τάσης του αστικού τουρισμού και, παράλληλα, στο πλαίσιο της πολυδιάστατης και συνεχιζόμενης κρίσης και της διαχρονικής έλλειψης πολιτικών για την κατοικία. Το παρόν κείμενο παρουσιάζει τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας με τίτλο «Χωρο-κοινωνικές επιπτώσεις της Airbnb βραχυπρόθεσμης μίσθωσης ακινήτων στην πόλη της Αθήνας» που χρηματοδοτήθηκε από το Κέντρο Έρευνας για τις Ανθρωπιστικές Επιστήμες (ΚΕΑΕ) κατά το έτος 2019. Συγκεκριμένα, μετά από μια εκτενή βιβλιογραφική επισκόπηση, το κείμενο αναλύει: α) την έκταση που έχει λάβει το φαινόμενο της Airbnb βραχυχρόνιας μίσθωσης ακινήτων στην Αθήνα, τα ποιοτικά χαρακτηριστικά του και την ιδιαίτερη γεωγραφία του· β) τις επιπτώσεις της επέκτασης του φαινομένου στην Αθήνα σε σχέση με τον αστικό χώρο, την κατοικία, την κοινωνία, την οικονομία και συνολικότερα τις τάσεις «τουριστικοποίησης» που προκαλεί· και γ) ορισμένες πτυχές των σχετικών με τη βραχυχρόνια μίσθωση δημόσιων πολιτικών. Συνολικά, όπως προκύπτει από τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, η Airbnb βραχυχρόνια μίσθωση ακινήτων αποτελεί ένα ιδιαίτερα σύνθετο φαινόμενο και αναδεικνύεται ως κρίσιμη δύναμη μετασχηματισμού του αστικού χώρου, της κοινωνίας και της οικονομίας, με πολλαπλές επιπτώσεις, από θετικές έως ιδιαίτερα αρνητικές, για ένα ευρύ φάσμα του πληθυσμού των πόλεων.
Gifts exchange between Omani rulers and officials and some western countries in the light of documents: an archival documentary study of an Omani historical document from the twentieth century
Authors: Abou Salem Mohamed
Published: December 2022

The research dealt with the existence of an exchange of gifts between the Omani state on the one hand and England, France and the United States of America on the other hand, and the research reached the conclusion that the motive behind these gifts is to facilitate interests and overcome difficulties as a kind of political bribery wrapped in a cover of friendliness and graininess, and the number of research types of those gifts from Both the Omani and foreign parties, and it became clear that there were no diplomatic traditions at one time in England and France prohibiting the exchange of gifts with the rulers of Oman, especially France, but it appeared that the tradition of preventing the exchange of such gifts personally with the English government represented by their consul in Oman was found, and this was also found The esteemed tradition of the United States government; This is due to fear of government employees including presidents, consuls, and others being involved in inappropriate and impermissible engagements and agreements, and the search ended with a detailed diplomatic publishing and archival study of the document of the British Consul to Sheikh Ibra, and then exit with some diplomatic rules that were followed in writing such documents in the Sultanate of Oman, and that Through relying on the historical analytical approach, reviewing and criticizing primary and secondary sources internally and externally, with a critical analytical observation of these sources, in addition to Omani personal interviews, along with the diploma documentary approach to access legal formulas and parts of the document used, through the documentary archival study of one of these documents.
Impacts of Distributive Comparison Behavior on Corporate Social Responsibility in Supply Chains: The Role of Small Firms
Authors: Wang Mingzheng , Fang Xin , Wang Zizhuo , Chen Ying-ju
Published: December 2022

Problem definition: In this paper, we explore how a firm’s concern about profit distribution and the size of downstream firms in supply chains affect corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment strategy. Methodology/results: In a supply chain consisting of one supplier and one manufacturer, both players decide whether to invest to reduce CSR violations, and they negotiate over a wholesale price. Distributive comparison behavior makes the manufacturer compare the profit with his equitable payoff, which is determined by the supplier’s profit. Advantageous (resp. disadvantageous) inequality occurs when the manufacturer’s profit is higher (resp. lower) than the manufacturer’s equitable payoff. We compare this supply chain to the one without distributive comparison behavior. We find that when advantageous inequality occurs, or when neither inequality occurs and the manufacturer’s sensitivity to the supplier’s profit is low, the manufacturer’s distributive comparison behavior makes the manufacturer less (resp. supplier more) likely to invest in CSR, which we call negative (resp. positive) impacts of distributive comparison behavior; otherwise, it makes the manufacturer more (resp. supplier less) likely to invest. In most cases, the weak bargaining power of the small manufacturer leads to larger positive or smaller negative impacts of distributive comparison behavior. Also, the low efficiency of the small manufacturer to reduce CSR violations leads to smaller negative impacts of distributive comparison behavior. Managerial implications: Our results show that governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) should investigate firms’ distributive comparison behavior in supply chains. When downstream firms show the aversion to lower (resp. higher) profits than ones from upstream firms, the measures to monitor and support upstream (resp. downstream) firms’ CSR investments should be taken to avoid CSR violations. In the supply chains with small downstream firms, extra efforts should be made to induce firms’ distributive comparison behavior.

Funding: M. Wang was supported partially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71931009 and 71671023]; X. Fang is grateful for the support under a Lee Kong Chian Fellowship and Retail Centre of Excellence Research Grant; Z. Wang was supported partially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72010107002, 71671023, and 72171212]; and Y. Chen was supported partially by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China [HKUST C6020-21GF].

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1172 .
Why does patient mental health matter? Part 3: dental self-neglect as a consequence of psychiatric conditions
Authors: Elliott Emma , Sanger Emily , Shiers David , Aggarwal Vishal R
Published: December 2022

This is the third article in a series looking at psychiatric presentations in dentistry. Recently, the oral health of people with severe mental illness (SMI) has gained significant media attention after the Office of the Chief Dental Officer for England published a statement on the importance of prioritizing oral health for people with SMI. Furthermore, a consensus statement has set out a 5-year plan to improve oral health in people with SMI. In Part 2 of the series, we discussed how a psychiatric disorder can manifest as an orofacial obsession in the absence of dental pathology. This article explores the physical presentation of dental self-neglect, specifically how different psychiatric conditions could be linked to emergency dental presentations. A fictionalized case-based discussion is used to explore clinical presentations of orofacial obsessions and their potential relationship to psychiatry.

CPD/Clinical Relevance: This paper emphasizes the role of the primary care dental team in recognition of psychiatric conditions, such as mood disorders, substance misuse and early psychosis.
Exploring barriers to tobacco smoking cessation in minority ethnic patients in the UK
Authors: Bhanu Nisha , Chestnutt Ivor G
Published: December 2022

While the role of the dental team in promoting smoking cessation is well described, the nuances of counselling on tobacco use in individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds are less well understood. Beliefs and cultural practices require consideration when discussing the benefits of stopping smoking, an important consideration in a country with the great ethnic diversity prevalent in the UK. This article discusses culturally related barriers to patients stopping smoking. Recommendations for members of the dental team to consider next time they have a conversation with a patient from an ethnic minority background regarding their smoking habits are presented.

CPD/Clinical Relevance: This article provides advice on how the dental team can help patients from ethnic minorities stop smoking.
Distributed fiber mountain seismic monitoring and steady-state analysis under natural earthquakes
Authors: Yang Junqi , Wang Zhaoyong , Zhou Jian , Song Xiuqing , Liu Yifan , Wu Bingyan , Shuai Luwei , Ying Kang , Ye Lei , Zhang Luqing , Ye Qing , Cai Haiwen
Published: December 2022

Mountain dynamic response monitoring plays important roles in geological disaster evolution monitoring and warning. A distributed mountain seismic monitoring and steady-state analysis method is demonstrated with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) and a natural earthquake stimulus. In the field test, the seismic detection capability is first verified by comparing the recorded seismic waveforms from DAS and existing seismic stations. The vibration signal difference between steady-state and unsteady-state mountain parts is apparent; the operational modal analysis method is utilized to extract the response difference and to monitor the disaster evolution process. The proposed method has many advantages, including being easy to deploy, all-weather online monitoring, etc. It is believed that the proposed method will broaden the DAS application scope and promote the development of geological disaster early warning such as landslides and collapses.
Elimination of the color discrimination impairment along the blue–yellow axis in patients with hypothyroidism after treatment with levothyroxine as assessed by the Farnsworth–Munsell 100 hue test
Authors: Racheva Kalina , Totev Tsvetalin , Natchev Emil , Bocheva Nadejda , Beirne Raymond , Zlatkova Margarita
Published: December 2022

Our previous study has shown that individuals with untreated hypothyroidism display significantly higher partial error scores (

P
E
S

) along the blue–yellow axis compared to the red–green axis than normal individuals using the Farnsworth–Munsell 100 hue test [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 37, A18 (2020)JOAOD60740-323210.1364/JOSAA.382390]. We wished to determine how color discrimination may change when hypothyroidism has been treated to the point of euthyroidism. Color discrimination was reassessed for 17 female individuals who had undergone treatment for hypothyroidism, and the results were compared with 22 female individuals without thyroid dysfunction. No statistically significant difference was found in the total error score (

T
E
S

) for the first and second measurements for both groups (

p
>

0.45

). The

P
E
S

for the hypothyroid group improved significantly in the previously impaired color regions after the treatment. Color discrimination defects found in untreated hypothyroidism can be negated with treatment of the condition over an appropriate time period.
Active terahertz beam deflection based on a phase gradient metasurface with liquid crystal-enhanced cavity mode conversion
Authors: Ji Yunyun , Jiang Xinhao , Fan Fei , Zhao Huijun , Cheng Jierong , Wang Xianghui , Chang Shengjiang
Published: December 2022

Active manipulation of terahertz (THz) beam deflection and intensity is highly desired for possible applications in wireless communication, radar, and remote sensing. Here, by integrating the phase-gradient metasurfaces and tunable liquid crystal materials, we demonstrate an active THz beam deflection device based on polarization mode conversion. The resonant modes in the photonic cavity formed by the double-layer metasurface and the tunable anisotropic liquid crystal material in the cavity not only improve the polarization conversion efficiency of the device, but also actively regulate the resonance matching conditions. As a consequence, a beam deflection of 47.5° with 50% diffraction intensity at 0.69 THz is achieved in the x-to-y polarization conversion mode, and this beam can be actively modulated with an ultrahigh modulation depth of 99.6% by rotating the anisotropic optical axis of liquid crystals. Moreover, the proposed device can also work as the deflection of 32.5° in the y-to-x polarization conversion mode at 0.94 THz with a maximum diffraction intensity of 38% and an intensity modulation depth of 97.8%. This work provides a new approach based on liquid crystal photonic devices for wavefront manipulation and active modulation for THz waves.
Optimizing the generation of polarization squeezed light in nonlinear optical fibers driven by femtosecond pulses
Authors: Andrianov A. V. , Kalinin N. A. , Sorokin A. A. , Anashkina E. A. , Sánchez-Soto L. L. , Corney J. F. , Leuchs G.
Published: December 2022

Bright squeezed light can be generated in optical fibers utilizing the Kerr effect for ultrashort laser pulses. However, pulse propagation in a fiber is subject to nonconservative effects that deteriorate the squeezing. Here, we analyze two-mode polarization squeezing, which is SU(2)-invariant, robust against technical perturbations, and can be generated in a polarization-maintaining fiber. We perform a rigorous numerical optimization of the process and the pulse parameters using our advanced model of quantum pulse evolution in the fiber that includes various nonconservative effects and real fiber data. Numerical results are consistent with experimental results.
Large scanning field laser concurrent drilling system with a five-axis independent control for special-shaped holes
Authors: Qiao Yaqing , Yang Haozhou , Ding Yuhang , Chen Tianting , Duan Jun , Xiong Wei , Deng Leimin
Published: December 2022

Five-axis laser scanning technology is an effective drilling method for special-shaped holes. Due to a gap in laser angle-of-incidence (AOI) control within a large scanning field, current technologies are challenging for fabricating large-size holes or special-shaped hole arrays. In this paper, a large scanning field five-axis laser concurrent drilling system was proposed. The laser AOI was independently controlled using two pairs of synchronous deflection mirrors. The laser control deviations under a large scanning field were investigated systematically by simulation and experiment. By establishing a complete correction method, the laser AOI control within a scanning field diameter of up to 35 mm was achieved. A series of special-shaped holes were fabricated concurrently on a 3.6 mm thick glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), verifying that the AOI can be controlled by the five-axis laser scanning system. Our work provides a novel method to increase the scanning field of the five-axis laser scanning technology, expanding the application scope of the five-axis laser processing.
Event-based imaging polarimeter simulation with a single DoFP image
Authors: Yan Changda , Wang Xia , Zhang Xin , Wang Conghe
Published: December 2022

An event camera is a neuromorphic vision sensor with a high dynamic range (HDR), high temporal resolution (HTR), low latency, and low power consumption. A polarimeter is an instrument for measuring the state of polarization of light. Currently, most imaging polarimeters are limited in dynamic range and frame rate when used with frame-based cameras. We can establish an event-based imaging polarimeter using the principle of the event camera to obtain HDR and HTR polarized event streams for processing polarization information. However, because of the short history and high cost of event cameras, developing an event-based imaging polarimeter requires substantial resources. We propose an event-based imaging polarimeter simulation method with a single division of focal plane image based on the existing research on event simulation. This method can easily convert existing data into a polarized event stream. It is beneficial to lower the requirement of processing polarized event streams and to create large datasets for deep learning.
Crystal growth and spectroscopic analysis of Ho,Pr:Lu2O3 crystal for a 2.9 µm mid-IR laser
Authors: Li Jianda , Dong Jianshu , Cao Xiao , Song Qingsong , Xu Xiaodong , Xue Yanyan , Tang Huili , Wang Qingguo , Xu Jun
Published: December 2022

The EFG technique was used to successfully grow a crystal of Ho,Pr:Lu2O3. The crystal's spectroscopic features were investigated. Ho,Pr:Lu2O3 has an absorption cross-section of 0.47 × 10−20 cm2 at 647 nm and 0.20 × 10−20 cm2 at 1147 nm. The fluorescence characteristics of the grown crystal at 2.9 µm were examined using the J-O theory. Calculations were made for the intensity parameters Ωt (t = 2, 4, 6), radiative transition rates, branching ratios, and radiative lifetime. Ho,Pr:Lu2O3 demonstrated significant emission at 2104 and 2893 nm, with stimulated emission cross sections of 2.96 × 10−21 cm2 and 4.24 × 10−21 cm2, respectively. Ho3+ 5I6 and 5I7 levels were found to have fluorescence lifetimes of 0.55 ms and 3.23 ms, respectively.
Hyperbolic metamaterial structures based on graphene for THz super-resolution imaging applications
Authors: Hao Shixuan , Wang Jicheng , Fanayev Ivan , Khakhomov Sergei , Li Jingwen
Published: December 2022

The diffraction limit of light due to the loss of evanescent waves that
carry high spatial frequency information in the far field restricts
the practical applications of terahertz imaging technology. In order
to break the diffraction limit, we investigate the super-resolution
capability of different types of multilayered graphene-dielectric
hyperbolic metamaterials. A super-resolution of λ/10 is achieved for
both the cylindrical and planar structures. A prominent advantage of
graphene-dielectric hyperbolic structures is the dynamic tunability of
the dispersion and super-resolution performance by adjusting the
chemical potential of graphene through conveniently changing the gate
voltage without modifying the geometry of the hyperbolic structures.
Furthermore, we have investigated the influence of bilayer thickness
variations on the super-resolution performance. Finally, we apply the
planar hyperbolic structures for the super-resolution imaging and a
roughly five-fold lateral resolution enhancement is realized in our
approach. Due to many prominent advantages including super-resolution
over broad spectral range, dynamic tunability, good stability and
robustness, we believe this work could contribute to the improvement
of the resolutions of terahertz imaging systems and the development of
hyperbolic metamaterial modulation devices in the terahertz band.
Waveguide integrated high-speed black phosphorus photodetector on a thin film lithium niobate platform
Authors: Xue Yu , Wu Xiaoxuan , Chen Kaixuan , Wang Junjia , Liu Liu
Published: December 2022

The thin film lithium niobate platform has shown its potential to support high-performance active and passive integrated photonic devices. Yet, due to the transparency of lithium niobate, it is not suitable for building a photodetector monolithically for conventional communication wavelengths. In this work, we demonstrate a high-speed photodetector on the thin film lithium niobate platform using hybrid integration of two-dimensional materials, i.e., black phosphorus. The black phosphorus and lithium niobate hybrid waveguide exhibit a high absorption coefficient of 1.56 dB/µm. The constructed metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector also presents a high responsivity of 2.64 A/W (at an input optical power of 25.1 µW). The 3-dB bandwidth of the device is as high as 1.97 GHz.
Imaging through a weakly scattering medium by spectral-domain optical coherence microscopy with a digital phase conjugation
Authors: Nakatani Noriyuki , Takeuchi Shota , Harukaze Keisuke , Quan Xiangyu , Matoba Osamu
Published: December 2022

A spectral-domain optical coherence microscope (SD-OCM) embedded by a digital phase conjugation is presented for high-resolution imaging of objects behind a weakly scattering medium. For high-resolution SD-OCM, keeping a narrow focusing spot even in a scattering medium is important. To compensate for the degradation of the focused spot due to the scattering, digital phase conjugation with a low-coherent light is introduced by measuring the distorted wavefront of coherent light and making wavelength conversion due to the difference between the coherent and low-coherent light beams. Experiments using a weakly scattering sheet with a scattering angle of 30 degrees showed us to improve the focused spot property and enhance the reflected intensity signal. We also demonstrate the feasibility of the system for the imaging of objects with periodic reflectance structures of 10 µm width.
A Forgotten Principle in Immunocytochemistry: Optimal Dilution
Authors: Dudás Bertalan , Lane Malcolm , Mupparaju Nikitha , Kim Hye Min , Merchenthaler Istvan
Published: December 2022

Immunocytochemical (ICC) techniques are frequently used in basic and clinical research. Here, we focus on the importance of using antisera/antibodies at optimal dilutions to achieve specificity and reduce costs. Unfortunately, the basic principle, the necessity to test method specificity of the staining by a series of increasing dilutions of primary antiserum/antibodies, is only occasionally seen in papers using ICC. Many researchers rely on the company’s information or others’ published data. In this study, we show examples with monoclonal antibodies used in the peroxidase-based ICC technique in mouse and guinea pig brain sections. We show images of ICC staining of phospho-S129 alpha-synuclein in A53T mice and NeuN in guinea pig brains and demonstrate that optimal staining with them can be achieved at least at two to three orders of magnitude higher dilutions than generally used in the literature. We strongly recommend that when antisera/antibodies are used for the first time in any laboratory, independent of what the manufacturer or vendor recommends or are found in the literature, a dilution curve should be set up to identify the optimal dilution. This practice provides not only the highest specificity but is also an economic approach.
Sparse RNNs can support high-capacity classification
Authors: Turcu Denis , Abbott L. F.
Published: December 2022

Feedforward network models performing classification tasks rely on highly convergent output units that collect the information passed on by preceding layers. Although convergent output-unit like neurons may exist in some biological neural circuits, notably the cerebellar cortex, neocortical circuits do not exhibit any obvious candidates for this role; instead they are highly recurrent. We investigate whether a sparsely connected recurrent neural network (RNN) can perform classification in a distributed manner without ever bringing all of the relevant information to a single convergence site. Our model is based on a sparse RNN that performs classification dynamically. Specifically, the interconnections of the RNN are trained to resonantly amplify the magnitude of responses to some external inputs but not others. The amplified and non-amplified responses then form the basis for binary classification. Furthermore, the network acts as an evidence accumulator and maintains its decision even after the input is turned off. Despite highly sparse connectivity, learned recurrent connections allow input information to flow to every neuron of the RNN, providing the basis for distributed computation. In this arrangement, the minimum number of synapses per neuron required to reach maximum memory capacity scales only logarithmically with network size. The model is robust to various types of noise, works with different activation and loss functions and with both backpropagation- and Hebbian-based learning rules. The RNN can also be constructed with a split excitation-inhibition architecture with little reduction in performance.
CONGA: Copy number variation genotyping in ancient genomes and low-coverage sequencing data
Authors: Söylev Arda , Çokoglu Sevim Seda , Koptekin Dilek , Alkan Can , Somel Mehmet
Published: December 2022

To date, ancient genome analyses have been largely confined to the study of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Copy number variants (CNVs) are a major contributor of disease and of evolutionary adaptation, but identifying CNVs in ancient shotgun-sequenced genomes is hampered by typical low genome coverage (<1×) and short fragments (<80 bps), precluding standard CNV detection software to be effectively applied to ancient genomes. Here we present CONGA, tailored for genotyping CNVs at low coverage. Simulations and down-sampling experiments suggest that CONGA can genotype deletions >1 kbps with F-scores >0.75 at ≥1×, and distinguish between heterozygous and homozygous states. We used CONGA to genotype 10,002 outgroup-ascertained deletions across a heterogenous set of 71 ancient human genomes spanning the last 50,000 years, produced using variable experimental protocols. A fraction of these (21/71) display divergent deletion profiles unrelated to their population origin, but attributable to technical factors such as coverage and read length. The majority of the sample (50/71), despite originating from nine different laboratories and having coverages ranging from 0.44×-26× (median 4×) and average read lengths 52-121 bps (median 69), exhibit coherent deletion frequencies. Across these 50 genomes, inter-individual genetic diversity measured using SNPs and CONGA-genotyped deletions are highly correlated. CONGA-genotyped deletions also display purifying selection signatures, as expected. CONGA thus paves the way for systematic CNV analyses in ancient genomes, despite the technical challenges posed by low and variable genome coverage.
Community-based referral for tuberculosis preventive therapy is effective for treatment completion
Authors: Shenoi Sheela V. , Kyriakides Tassos C. , Dokubo Emily Kainne , Guddera Vijayanand , Vranken Peter , Desai Mitesh , Friedland Gerald , Moll Anthony P.
Published: December 2022

Expansion of tuberculous preventive therapy (TPT) is essential to curb TB incidence and mortality among people with HIV (PWH), yet implementation has been slow. Innovative strategies to operationalize TPT are urgently needed. Here we present an evaluation of community-based identification and referral of PWH on completion of a six-month course of isoniazid in a highly prevalent region in rural South Africa. Using a community-based TB/HIV intensive case finding strategy, a team of nurses and lay workers identified community members with HIV who were without fever, night sweats, weight loss, or cough and referred them to the government primary care clinics for daily oral isoniazid, the only available TPT regimen. We measured monthly adherence and six-month treatment completion in the community-based identification and referral (CBR) group compared to those already engaged in HIV care. Adherence was measured by self-report and urine isoniazid metabolite testing. A multivariable analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of TPT completion. Among 240 participants, 81.7% were female, median age 35 years (IQR 30–44), and 24.6% had previously been treated for TB. The median CD4 count in the CBR group was 457 (IQR 301–648), significantly higher than the clinic-based comparison group median CD4 of 344 (IQR 186–495, p<0.001). Independent predictors of treatment completion included being a woman (aOR 2.41, 95% 1.02–5.72) and community-based identification and referral for TPT (aOR 2.495, 95% 1.13–5.53). Among the CBR group, treatment completion was 90.0%, an absolute 10.8% higher than the clinic-based comparison group (79.2%, p = 0.02). Adherence was significantly greater in the CBR group than the clinic-based comparison group, as measured by self-report (p = 0.02) and urine isoniazid testing (p = 0.01). Among those not on ART at baseline, 10% of eligible PWH subsequently initiated ART. Community members living with HIV in TB endemic regions identified and referred for TPT demonstrated higher treatment completion and adherence compared to PWH engaged for TPT while receiving clinic-based care. Community-based identification and referral is an innovative adjunctive strategy to facilitate implementation of TB preventive therapy in people living with HIV.
Absence of transmission of vYF next generation Yellow Fever vaccine in mosquitoes
Authors: Bellone Rachel , Mousson Laurence , Bohers Chloé , Mantel Nathalie , Failloux Anna-Bella
Published: December 2022

One of the most effective vaccines against an arbovirus is the YFV-17D live-attenuated vaccine developed in 1937 against Yellow Fever (YF). This vaccine replicates poorly in mosquitoes and consequently, is not transmitted by vectors. Vaccine shortages, mainly due to constrained productions based on pathogen-free embryonated eggs, led Sanofi to move towards alternative methods based on a state-of-the-art process using continuous cell line cultures in bioreactor. vYF-247 is a next-generation live-attenuated vaccine candidate based on 17D adapted to grow in serum-free Vero cells. For the development of a new vaccine, WHO recommends to document infectivity and replication in mosquitoes. Here we infected Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes with vYF-247 vaccine compared first to the YF-17D-204 reference Sanofi vaccines (Stamaril and YF-VAX) and a clinical human isolate S-79, provided in a blood meal at a titer of 6.5 Log ffu/mL and secondly, to the clinical isolate only at an increased titer of 7.5 Log ffu/mL. At different days post-infection, virus replication, dissemination and transmission were evaluated by quantifying viral particles in mosquito abdomen, head and thorax or saliva, respectively. Although comparison of vYF-247 to reference vaccines could not be completed to yield significant results, we showed that vYF-247 was not transmitted by both Aedes species, either laboratory strains or field-collected populations, compared to clinical strain S-79 at the highest inoculation dose. Combined with the undetectable to low level viremia detected in vaccinees, transmission of the vYF-247 vaccine by mosquitoes is highly unlikely.
Predicting adverse drug effects: A heterogeneous graph convolution network with a multi-layer perceptron approach
Authors: Chen Y.-H. , Shih Y.-T. , Chien C.-S. , Tsai C.-S.
Published: December 2022

We apply a heterogeneous graph convolution network (GCN) combined with a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) denoted by GCNMLP to explore the potential side effects of drugs. Here the SIDER, OFFSIDERS, and FAERS are used as the datasets. We integrate the drug information with similar characteristics from the datasets of known drugs and side effect networks. The heterogeneous graph networks explore the potential side effects of drugs by inferring the relationship between similar drugs and related side effects. This novel in silico method will shorten the time spent in uncovering the unseen side effects within routine drug prescriptions while highlighting the relevance of exploring drug mechanisms from well-documented drugs. In our experiments, we inquire about the drugs Vancomycin, Amlodipine, Cisplatin, and Glimepiride from a trained model, where the parameters are acquired from the dataset SIDER after training. Our results show that the performance of the GCNMLP on these three datasets is superior to the non-negative matrix factorization method (NMF) and some well-known machine learning methods with respect to various evaluation scales. Moreover, new side effects of drugs can be obtained using the GCNMLP.