bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hegemony in Effective Communication on the Modern Health Services During Pregnancy, Give Birth, and Postpartum in Baduy Communities
Authors: Ariningrum Ratih , Kartika Vita , Agustiya Rozana Ika , Latifah Choirum
Published: November 2020

Kanekes Village, where Baduy people live, is the biggest contributor to maternal deaths in the District of Lebak. Baduy awareness to check pregnancy at midwives has begun to increase, but for childbirth and childbirth examination has not been carried out. That is because there is a culture in the Baduy community regarding childbirth itself, as well as their adherence to the rules that have been issued by traditional leaders. The research uses a qualitative approach with the Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach. This study aims to examine the constraints and analyze the process of the formation of relationships between health workers, cadres, and heads of RT with the Baduy community in effective communication to improve modern health services during pregnancy, give birth, and postpartum in the Baduy community. The results showed that modern health services can be applied to the behavior of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperal of the Baduy community if the agents of change (organic intellectual) can change the idea of the modern health service into an ideology, then popular belief is obtained, then hegemony is formed from the agents of change. The final stage is that the country must be able to accommodate this effort. The efforts of agents of change (organic intellectuals) from the idea of modern health services to the created hegemony are sought by effective communication. Implementation of effective communication is pursued by provding explanations that are easily understood by the public through simulations.
Factors Contributing to Pregnancies among Tertiary Students at the University of Namibia
Authors: Victoria Ben , Ashipala Daniel Opotamutale , Tomas Nestor
Published: November 2020

The Government of Republic of Namibia through the services rendered by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) continues to provide various free health services including contraceptives to its citizens. Nevertheless, several challenges related to unplanned pregnancies among tertiary student’s remains a challenge, which includes poor reproductive health status, socio-economic consequences rapid-population growth, rural-urban migration of youths accompanied by proliferation of informal settlements around cities, high youth unemployment and crime. This requires institutions of higher learning to establish which strategies are likely to address these problems of unplanned pregnancies among tertiary students. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the contributing factors to pregnancies amongst tertiary students at a selected satellite campus in order to make recommendations to the University of Namibia (UNAM).

An exploratory, descriptive and qualitative design was used. The study was contextual in nature. A convenient sampling was used. The data were collected through three focus-group discussions with 19 students from the three faculties namely: Education, Health Sciences and Management Sciences. Data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Strategies to ensure trustworthiness and ethical implementation of the study were implemented. It became evident from the study findings that factors which are contributing to pregnancies, as evidenced by the four emerged themes namely: Personal factors, institutional related factors and improvements measures. This study has implications for higher education institutions in terms of promoting sexual and reproductive health information and increasing access to a range of contraceptive methods of campus which are key in the prevention of pregnancies among tertiary students. Participants in this study recommended that peer educators and students counsellor within the campus should be used as a vehicle to provide support and guidance to students on reproductive health choices.
The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Crisis Management in the Cellular Communications Sector in Jordan
Authors: ALHumeisat Ethar Khalaf Ibrahim , ALBashabsheh Samer Abdulmajid Hazeem
Published: November 2020

The current study aimed to identify the impact of transformational leadership on crisis management in the Cellular Communications sector in Jordan. This study relies on the descriptive and analytical approach for this study.

The study population includes administrators working in Zain, Orange, and Umniah companies. A Convenience non-probability sample of 100 managers was taken to distribute the study questionnaire to them.

Moreover, the study reached the following results: There is a statistically significant impact at (α ≤ 0.05) for transformational leadership with its dimensions (ideal effect, inspirational stimulation, intellectual stimulation, individual considerations) on crisis management in Jordan cellular communications sector.

In light of the previous results, the researcher recommends the following: The necessity for the administration to use the information network security system to retrieve information before the crisis occurs. Senior management's necessity to benefit from its previous experiences to generate knowledge benefits the organization's employees—the need to create an organizational culture that promotes the useful application of transformational leadership.
Kleine teksten, grootse verwachtingen
Authors: Oosterling Morris , Camps Theo
Published: November 2020

Small texts, big expectations. The increase in demands on administrators in non-profit organizations

Changes in views on the management of non-profit organizations have implications for the role expected of administrators. This also has an important influence on the requirements placed on these administrators. In the Dutch context, it has not previously been investigated whether and how the requirements for administrators change, and to what extent this occurs in conjunction with changes in the views on the management of non-profit organizations. This is central to this study. By means of a content analysis, in which 363 recruitment texts from the period 1980-2010 were analyzed, the authors show that more and more divergent demands are made on administrators in non-profit organizations. With our study we also show that this accumulation is closely related to views on management. Regulators are advised to focus on optimizing requirements, rather than maximizing them. This allows for more targeted and more adequate recruitment. The study also shows that accountability has not previously been a specific requirement in recruitment texts, whereas this is desirable in the light of previous incidents. Our recommendation to supervisors is to pay more specific attention to this when drawing up job profiles. The relevance for practitioners is (a) that the study provides insight into the relationship between views on the management of non-profit organizations and the demands placed on directors by supervisors; (b) this also clarifies that there are or may be blind spots, as becomes clear with regard to accountability requirements; and finally (c) our study provides food for thought about the role of recruitment texts in the selection process, and whether the requirements set are really relevant to the organization.
De corona-uitbraak en het institutionele filter: naar een verklaring van West-Europese variaties in beleid
Authors: Hendriks Frank
Published: November 2020

The corona outbreak and the institutional filter: towards an explanation of Western European variations in policy

While authorities sometimes make it appear that the coronavirus outbreak in the first half of 2020 did not allow for policies other than those in place, we saw remarkable variations in policy approaches in Western Europe. Governments almost everywhere pushed for ‘social distancing’, but differences in wording and communication, and implementation and enforcement emerged that could not be entirely explained by differences in the manifestation of the coronavirus. In order to understand and explain such differences, this article points out the institutional filter that exists between the corona threat and policy action. The interaction between two central components of the institutional filter – national culture and state tradition – is elaborated in this article for six Western European countries in particular: the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom, on the one hand, and Belgium, France and Italy, on the one hand. Policy action in these countries is largely consistent with what could be expected given the combinations of national culture and state tradition in these countries. The institutional filter forms a comprehensive framework with which more specific explanations from social trust or manifest public leadership can be placed.
De vroege geschiedenis van de (lokale) bestuurswetenschappen: Adriaan Koelma als opvolger van Gerrit van Poelje
Authors: Reussing Rik
Published: November 2020

The early history of Dutch (local) administrative sciences: Adriaan Koelma as successor of Gerrit van Poelje

Adriaan Koelma fits in with the list of legal scholars who helped to shape the early history of the (local) administrative sciences in the Netherlands, which was dominated by a legal approach to local administration. In that respect, he was not only a follower of the first Dutch public administration scholar, Gerrit van Poelje, but also his successor. He held the chair in Public Administration in Rotterdam, which Van Poelje vacated in 1933, first as a lecturer and later as a professor (from 1946 onwards). Nowadays, Koelma is mainly remembered for the state commission named after him: he (in vain) advocated the introduction of districts (next to municipalities). He was chairman of this state commission that was installed by Minister Beel on 19 December 1946. He fulfilled his scientific activities in addition to a career in the Dutch civil service. Koelma was a typical ‘self-made man’ who worked his way up from junior employee at the municipal clerk’s office of Dordrecht to municipal clerk and, if only briefly, mayor of Alkmaar. His experiences in the Second World War had a great influence on his later life. Due to a war-related illness, he had to give up the chairmanship of the Koelma Commission in 1947 and in 1948 his professorship and role as mayor of Alkmaar. This war also gave him insight into the pernicious influence of Nazi ideology on governance theory and governance practice. He could not have suspected how hard the German occupier would put the Dutch administration and its servants to the test during his public lesson of 1934, because at that time the Nazi regime in Germany had not yet shown its true nature at the local level of government.
Selected aspects of choosing locations on "last miles" points in the supply chain
Authors: Kowalski Arkadiusz , Żak Jolanta
Published: November 2020

One of the methods used to provide an immediate delivery service is to engage the final recipient in a part of the distribution process, which significantly affects the supply chain. Currently, the customer decides where and when he will want to pick up the package with the goods. In order to above, the concept of "last mile" facilities appeared. The article describes the concept of "last mile", including "last mile" facilities. These facilities include elements of the distribution system enabling direct collection or parcel delivery by the customer. The article presents the problems of locating objects of this type in the supply chain and their location in space. The limitations and criteria taken into account during the location assessment are presented. A multicriteria procedure for the evaluation of location variants of "last mile" facilities has been proposed.
Complexity of the security control process of passenger and cabin baggage - outline of problematics
Authors: Uchroński Piotr
Published: November 2020

The increase in passenger traffic in air transport means that the airport's capacity becomes an increasingly important issue in addition to the safety and quality of services provided. Of course, its composition includes a number of elements determining as a consequence the possibility of celebrating a certain number of passengers and their baggage within a given time interval. In this paper, an overview of the issues related to the capacity of the passenger safety checkpoint and hand luggage was presented in the form of an introduction to further analysis. This is a very important factor illustrating the airport's operational capabilities. Proper configuration of GDP in the context of its infrastructure and tasks performed by security control operators, allows for conscious planning of not only the number of air operations performed in an hourly period, but also the appropriate design of terminal infrastructure necessary to check passengers. The tasks of OKB described in this article as well as additional factors affecting the time of performed control constitute a starting point for further, detailed tests allowing for quantification of the relationship between the indicated factors and the time of passenger's control.
First records and a new genus of comb-tailed spiders (Araneae: Hahniidae) from Thailand with comments on the six-eyed species of this family
Authors: Rivera-Quiroz Francisco Andrés , Petcharad Booppa , Miller Jeremy A.
Published: November 2020

The family Hahniidae is reported from Thailand for the first time. The genus Hexamatia gen. nov. and two new species, Hexamatia seekhaow gen. et sp. nov. and Hahnia ngai sp. nov., are described and illustrated. DNA sequences are provided for all the species reported here. The phylogenetic position of the novel genus Hexamatia gen. nov. and its relation to Hahnia are discussed. Based on these results, a new combination is proposed for Hexamatia senaria (Zhang, Li & Zheng, 2011) gen. et comb. nov. = Hahnia senaria. Known distribution of the species Hahnia saccata Zhang, Li & Zheng, 2011, originally described from China, is expanded. A brief review and notes on the taxonomy of the six-eyed hahniids are included.
Discourse of discipline: Communicative strategies in coaches' speech
Authors: Vekarić Gordana , Trbojević-Milošević Ivana
Published: November 2020

The great importance sport plays in modern society has resulted in analyses of many aspects of its social dynamics. The relationship of its main actors, in this case the coaches and athletes, was most often discussed form pedagogical, psychological and sociological stances and a relatively small number of studies referred to their communication, or rather its linguistic expression. The aim of this research was to describe the pragmatic mechanisms and the strategy of disciplining that coaches use when talking to athletes in two typical situations in sport: in training and at a competition. The research corpus, collected by a Discourse Completion Test, consists of authentic responses from 93 coaches of both genders. The corpus for analysis included 196 responses, categorised as clusters of speech acts which according to the strategic model could be categorised as examples of the disciplining strategy. Qualitative analysis provided an insight into the types of speech acts used in the analysed speech sequences, the functioning of politeness strategies used to mitigate the pressure on the interlocutors face, conversation implicatures and presuppositions which enable interpretation of the intended meaning that shapes coaches' discourse. The results of the analysis imply that coaches prefer using a more direct strategy in both observed situations, but also that by combining politeness strategies and indirectness they frequently disguise their communicative intentions, which most often refer to disciplining and requiring a change in the behaviour of the athlete. The conclusions we reached could be practically used in the education of coaches, by raising awareness of the importance of the aspects of linguistic production that would be appropriate in training and competitive situations, since the choice of linguistic strategies can improve the interaction of coaches and athletes.
Changes in the organizational structure of logistics enterprises in the conditions of the modern crisis
Authors: Stošić-Mihajlović Ljiljana , Jevtić-Radulović Marijana , Trajković Svetlana
Published: November 2020

In modern business conditions burdened by the crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus, all areas of life and work of modern civilization are deeply affected. All companies in modern economies have had a negative impact on the crisis. The logistics services sector is particularly affected. Companies that provide logistics services are now faced with a special requirement in terms of responding quickly to the challenges posed by quality logistics operations during a pandemic. For these reasons, as in other industries, companies in the logistics sector must adapt quickly to the challenges. The best way to adapt is to change the organizational structure of logistics companies, in accordance with the challenges imposed by the circumstances in the environment. This paper will discuss the necessary changes in the organizational structure of logistics companies, in order for these companies to continue or improve their business system, in accordance with the changes and challenges that come from the external environment.
Insurance offer and the reason for the underdeveloped market in Serbia
Authors: Pušara Milorad
Published: November 2020

This paper presents the current condition of the insurance market by creating an unpretentious review and pointing to the current deficiency of the insurance system in Serbia. It outlines some ideas that might solve certain issues and improve the current situation. Referred innovations that were introduced last year in the world market are very useful and can also serve as a good standard for joining the global insurance. Last but not least, the paper addresses the segment of insurance frauds as alarming incidences in need of attention. If we consider the "Basic Elements of Insurance", risk, premium, and indemnity, and if we follow the development of the insurance throughout the world, we recognize that technology development and reduced business costs imply greater risks, a growing range of new products, decreased premium, and stimulating increase of the Indemnity. This leads us to the conclusion that we must enter the race with the developed countries and accept the way of their business management by following the latest innovations in the insurance market in order to be competitive and competent.
Valente en clave musical de Sotelo: Fragmentos inéditos para la ópera Bruno o el Teatro de la Memoria (con ecos de Morente)
Authors: Escobar Borrego Francisco Javier
Published: November 2020

Resumen: El presente artículo ofrece un estudio monográfico circunscrito a la ópera Bruno o el Teatro de la Memoria en un trabajo conjunto, aunque inconcluso, realizado por el compositor madrileño Mauricio Sotelo y el poeta orensiano José Ángel Valente. Para ello se implementa una pluralidad metodológica con planteamientos epistemológicos procedentes del comparatismo, los estudios culturales y el análisis musicológico. Además, se aplican conocimientos y categorías conceptuales adscritos a la crítica textual, así como de la filologia d’autore o génétique des textes a la hora de editar los estadios redaccionales de los fragmentos de la ópera y varias cartas con documentos que contextualizan el proceso de composición. En lo que atañe a los resultados, destaca principalmente el estudio analítico y edición de tales textos con noticias desconocidas. Entre estos datos, a modo de conclusión, cabe poner de relieve la pervivencia y notoriedad del pensamiento humanístico de Giordano Bruno en la génesis de la ópera y sus implicaciones creativas tanto en Sotelo como en Valente. Por último, mención especial merece, a efectos de performatividad y práctica escénica, la figura de Enrique Morente, sobre todo por la identificación simbólica entre el cantaor granadino y la figura del humanista napolitano en calidad de personaje de la ópera.
Los sonidos del flamenco: análisis fonético de “los orígenes” del cante
Authors: Fernández de Molina Ortés Elena
Published: November 2020

En esta investigación se presenta un estudio de los principales rasgos fonéticos de una muestra de 50 cantaores y las cantaoras de flamenco nacidos entre 1880 y 1950. Con el análisis de sus rasgos queremos comprobar si, como se ha dicho en otros estudios sobre la fonética del flamenco, estos artistas usan generalmente sonidos de las hablas andaluzas. Si lo hacen, queremos conocer qué variantes lingüísticas seleccionan según la procedencia geográfica de los cantaores, y si existen algunos fenómenos que, a partir de esta época, se generalizan como representativos del cante
Competition Law Enforcement in Italy after the ECN+ Directive: the Difficult Balance between Effectiveness and Over-enforcement
Authors: Dalla Valentina Giacomo
Published: November 2020

Almost fifteen years after its adoption, the system of decentralized enforcement laid down in Regulation 1/2003 has shaped competition law in a way that could hardly be predicted, in terms of both magnitude and quality of the activities of National Competition Authorities. More recently, the so-called ‘ECN+ Directive’ was adopted to address the shortcoming of such system, namely a perceived lack of independence and accountability of several NCAs and a certain degree of divergence within the European Competition Network. In this scenario, the Italian Competition Authority has frequently been depicted as a well-equipped, independent and effective enforcer and – with a few notable exceptions – the international debate concerning such reform has mostly overlooked its possible impact within the Italian legal system. This paper aims to assess whether, and to what an extent, the ECN+ Directive should affect the enforcement of competition law in Italy and, in particular, those fundamental guarantees of independence and effectiveness that form the core of the rule of law in the field of EU competition law.
Implementing the ECN+ Directive in Lithuania: Towards an Over-enforcement of Competition Law?
Authors: Surblytė-Namavičienė Gintarė
Published: November 2020

In 2018, the ECN+ Directive was issued with a goal to grant stronger powers to national competition authorities while enforcing competition law. This article analyses how the legal provisions of the ECN+ Directive have already been implemented in the Lithuanian Law on Competition, and considers what further changes may need to be made in order to fully implement the ECN+ Directive in the national law. It elaborates on the legal challenges while implementing the aforementioned Directive and provides a critical view on some of the amendments that have already been made.
Cumulative Enforcement of European and National Competition Law and the Ne Bis In Idem Principle Case Comment to the Judgement of EU Court of Justice of 3 April 2019 Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń na Życie S.A. v Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów (Case C-617/17)
Authors: Libertini Mario
Published: November 2020

The judgement of EU Court of Justice in response to the request for a preliminary ruling by the Polish Supreme Court confirms that the principle of ne bis in idem, enshrined in Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, must be interpreted as not precluding a national competition authority from fining an undertaking in a single decision for an infringement of national competition law and for an infringement of Article 82 EC (now Article 102 TFEU). In that regard it can be concluded that the judgement does not have anything new and is just a confirmation of settled case-law. Unfortunately, this case represents a lost opportunity to review the ‘double barrier’ doctrine and to clarify if the relationship between European and national competition law is one of ‘bilateral specialty’ or not.
La biblioteca escolar: ¿oportunidad o castigo?
Authors: Cruz María del Carmen
Published: November 2020

Según el Manifiesto de 1999 de la International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA/UNESCO), «La biblioteca escolar proporciona información e ideas que son fundamentales para desenvolverse con éxito en la sociedad contemporánea, basada en la información y el conocimiento. La biblioteca escolar dota a los estudiantes con los instrumentos que les permitirán aprender a lo largo de toda su vida y desarrollar su imaginación, haciendo posible que lleguen a ser ciudadanos responsables». La realidad no es tan idílica.
Short-term Traffic Flow Prediction Method in Bayesian Networks Based on Quantile Regression
Authors: Luo Jing
Published: November 2020

With the popularization of intelligent transportation system and Internet of vehicles, the traffic flow data on the urban road network can be more easily obtained in large quantities. This provides data support for shortterm traffic flow prediction based on real-time data. Of all the challenges and difficulties faced in the research of short-term traffic flow prediction, this paper intends to address two: one is the difficulty of short-term traffic flow prediction caused by spatiotemporal correlation of traffic flow changes between upstream and downstream intersections; the other is the influence of deviation of traffic flow caused by abnormal conditions on short-term traffic flow prediction. This paper proposes a Bayesian network short-term traffic flow prediction method based on quantile regression. By this method the trouble caused by spatiotemporal correlation of traffic flow prediction could be effectively and efficiently solved. At the same time, the prediction of traffic flow change under abnormal conditions has higher accuracy.
Discourse of Logistics and Transportation
Authors: Dževerdanović Pejović Milena
Published: November 2020

The discourse approach for analysing various specified genres and professional discourse communities has increased in recent decades. Globalisation and synergy of disciplines opened up space for the interdisciplinary studies. The analysis of the specialized discourses enables to reveal the peculiarities and dominant concepts of the professional fields. With this in mind, this paper aims to examine the features of discourse employed in the research articles and publications about transport and logistics. The paper analyses the structural and qualitative aspect of the discourse of logistics and transportation. Based on the move/steps model, the main components of the research article in this discourse domain are found. Then, the analysis is focused on the discourse indicators that differ logistics and transportation genres from other academic genres. The changes in the scope and interest domain of logistics are worth“tracking and tracing” from a discursive aspect. The research is carried out on the material compiled of the academic research articles on logistics and transportation, referential resources in the field, and logistic dictionaries. The analysis shows that changes in logistics and transportation correlate with discourse changes. On a diachronic level, many concepts are replaced by new ones containing new approaches and dimensions in logistics. The analysis conducted in this paper brings new insight to both disciplines, logistics and linguistics.
Diferencias entre las reglas de exclusión probatoria colombiana e internacional penal. Análisis en tres casos de injerencias en comunicaciones privadas
Authors: Ramírez Mendoza Joel M. F.
Published: November 2020

Al estudiar la regla o cláusula de exclusión probatoria dentro del ordenamiento interno colombiano, se entiende que la regla general es la prohibición de aducir elementos de prueba que sean resultado de injerencias arbitrarias en la intimidad de las personas; por excepción, estas solamente se pueden practicar después de orden judicial, so pena de que los resultados sean excluidos del proceso. Sin embargo, en la práctica hay casos que presentan un desarrollo diferente a lo que han venido planteando la legislación y la jurisprudencia nacional, y ello se ilustrará a través de tres casos de referencia. En contraste, la regla de exclusión ha tenido un tratamiento diferente a la luz del derecho internacional, principalmente en el derecho internacional humanitario, derecho internacional de los derechos humanos y el derecho internacional penal. Siendo así, el planteamiento y principal objeto de esta obra se enfoca en la siguiente interrogación: ¿cuáles son las diferencias entre el derecho nacional y el derecho internacional sobre la regla de exclusión? La búsqueda de la respuesta impone revisar la consistencia de la posición de la Corte Constitucional cuando afirma que la regla que contiene el Estatuto de Roma es equiparable a la regla de exclusión nacional, según la Sentencia C-578 de 2002.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT AND HYBRID PARAMETERS OF JUNCTION TRANSISTOR
Authors: CHENG CHONG-CHIH  , LEE GIN-LIN  ,   中国科学院物理研究所
Published: November 2020

In this paper the relationships between small-signal h-parameters and elements of the natural equivalent circuit of the common emitter configuration of junction transistors are studied. From experimental results of h-parameters of two typieal alloyed PNP transistors (one 2N104 and one п-6 transistor) the relationship of h-parameters and elements of natural equivalent circuit vs operating frequency and d. c. operating condition (d.c. emitter current and d.e. collector voltage) are evaluated. Results thus obtained ace then compared with results obtained from analysis based on calculations using physical constants of the transistor. The explanation of the behavior of the reverse open-circuit voltage amplification factor, μbc, of the common emitter circuit is given in detail. Characteristics of μbc and properties of h22 (the output admittance with input open) are correlated. This paper gives complete information about h-parameters and natural equivalent circuit of two transistors, serving as an important reference for both device men and research workers on transistor circuits.
NOTES ON DISCONTINUITY PROBLEMS IN COUPLED WAVE THEORY
Authors: HUANG HUNG-CHIA
Published: November 2020

In two previous papers the author presented a generalized theory of local normal modes by introducing the method of slowly varying coefficients-a mathematical method to solve systems of first order linear differential equations with slowly varying coefficients, which are associated with problems of multi-coupled modes in irregular waveguides. However, the theory presented therein was not in a form to adapt itself to problems involving abrupt Changes of the waveguide parameters, which are inevitable in any practical transmission system. The purpose of the present paper is to consider such abrupt changes in the light of the above theory, so that the concept of local normal modes may be used to describe a broader class of problems.
Phase-field model and its application in electrochemical energy storage materials
Authors: Zhang Geng , Wang Qiao , Sha Li-Ting , Li Ya-Jie , Wang Da , Shi Si-Qi ,   Physical Science and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia,   Materials Genome Institute, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China,   School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Published: November 2020

With the rapid progress of computer technology, computational research exhibits significant advantages in investigating microstructure evolution of material systems. As a computational research method of material dynamics, increasing attention has been paid to the phase-field model because of its avoidance of complicated interface tracking and convenience of dealing with applied fields. Theoretical framework of the phase-field model and three current phase-field models for multicomponent multiphase systems (the Carter, Steinbach, and Chen models) are introduced and reviewed in terms of interpretation of phase-field variables, way of coupling thermodynamic database, way of constructing the free energy density, and evolution equations. This review only focuses on the application of the phase-field model in electrochemical energy storage materials, and introduces its existing phase-field simulation results, which demonstrates that the phase-field model has tremendous potential in describing the microstructure evolution (anisotropic transport and phase separation, elastic and plastic deformation, crack propagation and fracture, dendrite growth, etc) and improving the performance of electrochemical energy storage materials. Finally, from two aspects of improving phase-field theory and extending application, future development trend and problems to be solved of phase-field simulations in electrochemical energy storage materials are discussed and looked ahead.
Morph-specific seasonal variation of aggressive behaviour in a polymorphic lizard species
Authors: Coladonato Alan Jioele , Mangiacotti Marco , Scali Stefano , Zuffi Marco A. L. , Pasquariello Carlotta , Matellini Cristian , Buratti Simone , Battaiola Mara , Sacchi Roberto
Published: November 2020

The persistence of colour polymorphism (CP) within a given population is generally associated with the coexistence of alternative reproductive strategies, each one involving specific trade-offs among behavioural, morphological, physiological, and other life histories. Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), is a medium-sized diurnal lizard, showing CP in three main colours (yellow, white, and red) on throat and belly, and a morph-specific pattern for both immunocompetence and seasonal variation of T levels. Yellow males show low stamina with high plasma T levels at the beginning of the season, while white males show high stamina with a higher plasma T levels at the end of the season. We hypothesised the presence of two strategies: a risky one, characterised by high aggressiveness played by yellow-morph, and a conservative one by white morph with low aggressiveness. Thus, we tested the aggressive response to conspecifics of yellow and white morphs using a mirror inserted into their cage, mimicking an intrusion of a stranger in their territories, throughout the breeding season (from April to July, 117 trials). We considered three types of aggressive response, with different levels of aggressiveness: (i) bite against the image reflected in the mirror, (ii) seconds spent by the individuals into the half mirrored cage, and (iii) number of times the lizard entered the half mirrored cage. We also considered the number of tongue flicking as explorative behaviour variable. All lizards were tested after a period of acclimatisation to the captivity conditions. Results demonstrate that yellow males showed a higher aggressive response in the early season and a decrease aggressive response towards the end, whereas white males showed an opposite pattern.
Genome-wide identification and analysis of the thiolase family in insects
Authors: Fang Shou-Min
Published: November 2020

Thiolases are important enzymes involved in lipid metabolism in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and are essential for a range of metabolic pathways, while, little is known for this important family in insects. To shed light on the evolutionary models and functional diversities of the thiolase family, 137 thiolase genes were identified in 20 representative insect genomes. They were mainly classified into five classes, namely cytosolic thiolase (CT-thiolase), T1-thiolase, T2-thiolase, trifunctional enzyme thiolase (TFE-thiolase), and sterol carrier protein 2 thiolase (SCP2-thiolase). The intron number and exon/intron structures of the thiolase genes reserve large diversification. Subcellular localization prediction indicated that all the thiolase proteins were mitochondrial, cytosolic, or peroxisomal enzymes. Four highly conserved sequence fingerprints were found in the insect thiolase proteins, including CxS-, NEAF-, GHP-, and CxGGGxG-motifs. Homology modeling indicated that insect thiolases share similar 3D structures with mammals, fishes, and microorganisms. InBombyx mori, microarray data and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis suggested that some thiolases might be involved in steroid metabolism, juvenile hormone (JH), and sex pheromone biosynthesis pathways. In general, sequence and structural characteristics were relatively conserved among insects, bacteria and vertebrates, while different classes of thiolases might have differentiation in specific functions and physiological processes. These results will provide an important foundation for future functional validation of insect thiolases.
Loss of HOXB3 correlates with the development of hormone receptor negative breast cancer
Authors: Zhu Lizhe , Yu Shibo , Jiang Siyuan , Ge Guanqun , Yan Yu , Zhou Yuhui , Niu Ligang , He Jianjun , Ren Yu , Wang Bin
Published: November 2020

Background

The homeobox gene family, encoding a specific nuclear protein, is essential for embryonic development, differentiation, and homeostasis. The role of the HOXB3 protein varies in different tumors. This study aims to explore the role of the HOXB3 gene in breast cancer.

Method

Differentially expressed genes were screened by analyzing metastatic breast cancer gene chip data from TCGA and GEO databases. The function of the selected HOXB3 gene was also analyzed in different databases and through molecular biology methods, such as qRT-PCR, western blot and IF to verify bioinformatics findings.

Results

Both bioinformatics analyses and western blot showed that HOXB3 was lost in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue. Survival analysis also showed that lower expression of HOXB3 was associated with poor prognosis. Bioinformatics analyses further showed that HOXB3 was positively correlated with hormone receptors. Metascape for GO analysis of GEO data provided possible mechanisms that HOXB3 could positively regulate cell adhesion, inhibit cell proliferation and activate immune response in breast cancer; moreover, GSEA included several cancer-associated pathways.

Conclusion

In summary, HOXB3 expression was decreased in breast cancer, and it was associated with poor prognosis. It might become a new biomarker to predict prognosis of breast cancer.
The Human Face of ABCC6
Authors: Terry Sharon F.
Published: November 2020

Researchers working on basic and translational clinical science related to ABC transporters are enthusiastic and dedicated investigators. As the field has grown, so has its contribution to human disease. Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) International, an advocacy organization established by non‐scientists, began supporting research and convenings on these transporters, specifically ABCC6, the gene associated with PXE, 20 years ago. As a patient advocacy organization, we have spent more than 25 years creating a large research consortium, initiating, funding and conducting research. Years of basic modelling and vigorous hypothesis testing have resulted in some important advances leading to clinical trials. The synergy of basic scientists, lay advocates, clinicians and translational scientists has dramatically accelerated research on PXE and progress towards better and more effective treatments for PXE patients.
A loss‐of‐function mutation p.T256M in NDRG4 is implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA/VSD) and tetralogy of Fallot (TOF)
Authors: Peng Jiayu , Wang Qingjie , Meng Zhuo , Wang Jian , Zhou Yue , Zhou Shuang , Song Wenting , Chen Sun , Chen Alex F. , Sun Kun
Published: November 2020

Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA/VSD) is a rare congenital heart disease (CHD) characterized by a lack of luminal continuity and blood flow from either the right ventricle or the pulmonary artery, together with VSDs. The prevalence of PA/VSD is about 0.2% of live births and approximately 2% of CHDs. PA/VSD is similar to tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) in terms of structural and pathological characteristics. The pathogenesis of these two CHDs remains incompletely understood. It was previously reported that N‐myc downstream‐regulated gene (NDRG)4 is required for myocyte proliferation during early cardiac development. In the present study, we enrolled 80 unrelated patients with PA/VSD or TOF and identified a probably damaging variant p.T256M of NDRG4. The p.T256M variant impaired the proliferation ability of human cardiac myocytes (hCM). Furthermore, the p.T256M variant resulted in G1 and G2 arrest of hCM, followed by an increase in p27 and caspase‐9 expression. Our results provide evidence that the p.T256M variant in NDRG4 is a pathogenic variant associated with impaired hCM proliferation and cell‐cycle arrest and likely contributes towards the pathogenesis of PA/VSD and TOF.
Characterization of radiotherapy component impact on MR imaging quality for an MRgRT system
Authors: Lewis Benjamin C. , Gu Bruce , Klett Ryan , Lotey Rajiv , Green Olga L. , Kim Taeho
Published: November 2020

Radiotherapy components of an magnetic resonnace‐guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) system can alter the magnetic fields, causing spatial distortion and image deformation, altering imaging and radiation isocenter coincidence and the accuracy of dose calculations. This work presents a characterization of radiotherapy component impact on MR imaging quality in terms of imaging isocenter variation and spatial integrity changes on a 0.35T MRgRT system, pre‐ and postupgrade of the system. The impact of gantry position, MLC field size, and treatment table power state on imaging isocenter and spatial integrity were investigated. A spatial integrity phantom was used for all tests. Images were acquired for gantry angles 0–330° at 30° increments to assess the impact of gantry position. For MLC and table power state tests all images were acquired at the home gantry position (330°). MLC field sizes ranged from 1.66 to 27.4 cm edge length square fields. Imaging isocenter shift caused by gantry position was reduced from 1.7 mm at gantry 150° preupgrade to 0.9 mm at gantry 120° postupgrade. Maximum spatial integrity errors were 0.5 mm or less pre‐ and postupgrade for all gantry angles, MLC field sizes, and treatment table power states. However, when the treatment table was powered on, there was significant reduction in SNR. This study showed that gantry position can impact imaging isocenter, but spatial integrity errors were not dependent on gantry position, MLC field size, or treatment table power state. Significant isocenter variation, while reduced postupgrade, is cause for further investigation.
Biosensor vital sign detects multiple sclerosis progression
Authors: Krysko Kristen M. , Akhbardeh Alireza , Arjona Jennifer , Nourbakhsh Bardia , Waubant Emmanuelle , Antoine Gourraud Pierre , Graves Jennifer S.
Published: November 2020

Objective

To determine whether a small, wearable multisensor device can discriminate between progressive versus relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) and capture limb progression over a short interval, using finger and foot tap data.

Methods

Patients with MS were followed prospectively during routine clinic visits approximately every 6 months. At each visit, participants performed finger and foot taps wearing the MYO‐band, which includes accelerometer, gyroscope, and surface electromyogram sensors. Metrics of within‐patient limb progression were created by combining the change in signal waveform features over time. The resulting upper (UE) and lower (LE) extremity metrics’ discrimination of progressive versus relapsing MS were evaluated with calculation of AUROC. Comparisons with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores were made with Pearson correlation.

Results

Participants included 53 relapsing and 15 progressive MS (72% female, baseline mean age 48 years, median disease duration 11 years, median EDSS 2.5, median 10 months follow‐up). The final summary metrics differentiated relapsing from secondary progressive MS with AUROC UE 0.93 and LE 0.96. The metrics were associated with baseline EDSS (UE P = 0.0003, LE P = 0.0007). While most had no change in EDSS during the short follow‐up, several had evidence of progression by the multisensor metrics.

Interpretation

Within a short follow‐up interval, this novel multisensor algorithm distinguished progressive from relapsing MS and captured changes in limb function. Inexpensive, noninvasive and easy to use, this novel outcome is readily adaptable to clinical practice and trials as a MS vital sign. This approach also holds promise to monitor limb dysfunction in other neurological diseases.
Trends in Hospitalization Rates, Major Causes of Hospitalization, and In‐Hospital Mortality in Rheumatoid Arthritis in the United States From 2000 to 2014
Authors: Iyer Priyanka , Gao Yubo , Field Elizabeth H. , Curtis Jeffrey R. , Lynch Charles F. , Vaughan‐Sarrazin Mary , Singh Namrata
Published: November 2020

Objective

To evaluate national trends in hospitalizations and in‐hospital mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods

National Inpatient Sample from 2000‐2014 and United States Census data were used to study temporal trends in adult RA hospitalizations, reasons for hospitalizations, and in‐hospital mortality.

Results

The data represented 183 983 hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of RA. The annual rates of hospitalization for the primary diagnosis of RA decreased from 76.54 admissions per 1 million in 2000 to 29.96 per 1 million in 2014 (P trend < 0.0001). The hospital mortality rate declined from 0.70% to 0.41% (P trend < 0.0001) in this group. With a primary or nonprimary diagnosis of RA, the mortality rate ranged between 1.95 and 2.87 (P trend 0.08). For a nonprimary diagnosis of RA, we noted that the proportion of hospitalizations with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction (6.4% in 2000 to 4.6% in 2014; P < 0.001) significantly decreased, but the absolute number of hospitalizations significantly increased. In contrast, the proportion and the absolute number of hospitalizations with any diagnosis of sepsis, congestive heart failure, lung disease, and urinary tract infection increased significantly. We also noted a significant increase in the actual rate and proportions for hospitalizations for hip and knee arthroplasty. Among in‐hospital deaths when RA was a nonprimary diagnosis, the most common primary diagnosis was pneumonia (12.5 %) in 2000, whereas sepsis accounted for the most deaths in 2014 (31.4%).

Conclusion

We observed that hospitalization rates and in‐hospital mortality rates in patients with RA have changed significantly over the past 15 years.
Gate‐Controlled Polarity‐Reversible Photodiodes with Ambipolar 2D Semiconductors
Authors: Du Junli , Liao Qingliang , Liu Baishan , Zhang Xiankun , Yu Huihui , Ou Yang , Xiao Jiankun , Kang Zhuo , Si Haonan , Zhang Zheng , Zhang Yue
Published: November 2020

A photosensor with an amplitude‐tunable and polarity‐reversible response under gate modulation has potential as a computational photosensor, which can provide more recognition degree of data to enhance signal processing efficiency. Although, the ambipolar 2D semiconductors possess unique gate‐tunable properties, the question of how to utilize this property to design polarity‐reversible photodiodes for intelligent applications remains unanswered. Here, gate‐controllable polarity‐reversible photodiodes based on ambipolar 2D semiconductors with an asymmetrically metal‐contacted architecture are proposed. By controlling the gate‐field, the local carrier type and density profile can be manipulated in the channel due to the partial shielding feature of the asymmetrically metal‐contacted architecture, resulting in a polarity‐reversible photodiode. The reported WSe2‐based photodiode possesses excellent rectifying behavior with a rectification ratio over 105, photovoltaic performance with 90% external quantum efficiency, and 2.3% power conversion efficiency under gate regulation. Meanwhile, the device exhibits reversible polarity of photovoltage from a negative to positive state under gate control. By utilizing the reversible photovoltage of the WSe2 photodiode, an optoelectronic switch with a photovoltage polarity signal is demonstrated without a bias voltage. This photovoltage‐reversible homodiode paves the way to develop 2D devices with multiple operation modes for potential applications in high‐efficiency photovoltaics, intelligent vision sensors, and logic optoelectronics.