bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MethylDetectR: a software for methylation-based health profiling
Authors: Hillary Robert F. , Marioni Riccardo E.
Published: April 2021

DNA methylation is an important biological process that involves the reversible addition of chemical tags called methyl groups to DNA and affects whether genes are active or inactive. Individual methylation profiles are determined by both genetic and environmental influences. Inter-individual variation in DNA methylation profiles can be exploited to estimate or predict a wide variety of human characteristics and disease risk profiles. Indeed, a number of methylation-based predictors of human traits have been developed and linked to important health outcomes. However, there is an unmet need to communicate the applicability and limitations of state-of-the-art methylation-based predictors to the wider community. To address this need, we have created a secure, web-based interactive platform called ‘MethylDetectR’ which automates the calculation of estimated values or scores for a variety of human traits using blood methylation data. These traits include age, lifestyle traits and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Methylation-based predictors often return scores on arbitrary scales. To provide meaning to these scores, users can interactively view how estimated trait scores for a given individual compare against other individuals in the sample. Users can optionally upload binary phenotypes and investigate how estimated traits vary according to case vs. control status for these phenotypes. Users can also view how different methylation-based predictors correlate with one another, and with phenotypic values for corresponding traits in a large reference sample (n = 4,450; Generation Scotland). The ‘MethylDetectR’ platform allows for the fast and secure calculation of DNA methylation-derived estimates for several human traits. This platform also helps to show the correlations between methylation-based scores and corresponding traits at the level of a sample, report estimated health profiles at an individual level, demonstrate how scores relate to important binary outcomes of interest and highlight the current limitations of molecular health predictors.
Inter maiestatem ac libertatem: Mowy sejmowe, listy w sprawach publicznych, pisma i wota z lat 1672-1679
Authors: Fredro Andrzej Maksymilian
Published: April 2021

INTER MAIESTATEM AC LIBERTATEM Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro (1620-1679), the castellan of Lviv and the voievodeof Podolia, is one of the most prominent writers and political thinkers in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the 17th century. He left behind an impressive literaryheritage, in which the guiding principle was a reflection on the condition of thestate, its government and the role of the idea Golden Liberty among the nobility.This edition consists of Fredro’s less renowned works covering the years 1672-1679: two excerpts of Vir Consilii…, public appearances of a political kind (votiveofferings and speeches delivered during parliament sittings), and a few copies ofprivate correspondence (among others to King Jan III Sobieski or Great Crownhetman Dymitr Wiśniowiecki), in which his opinions on current political issues wereincluded. According to the authors’ concept, it is the first part of the whole seriesdevoted to the edition of Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro’s works.
FinTech as a Game Changer: Overview of Research Frontiers
Authors: Hendershott Terrence , Zhang Xiaoquan (Michael) , Zhao J. Leon , Zheng Zhiqiang (Eric)
Published: April 2021

Technologies have spawned finance innovations since the early days of computer applications in businesses, most recently reaching the stage of disruptive innovations, such as mobile payments, cryptocurrencies, and digitization of business assets. This has led to the emerging field called financial technology or simply FinTech. In this editorial review, we first provide an overview on relevant technological, pedagogical, and managerial issues pertaining to FinTech teaching and research, with a focus on market trading, artificial intelligence, and blockchain in finance. And then we introduce the articles appearing in this special section. We hope that our discussions of potential research directions and topics in FinTech will stimulate future research in the fields of information systems and finance toward making their unique marks in the FinTech evolution and the associated business and societal innovations.
How Service Quality Variability Hurts Revenue When Customers Learn: Implications for Dynamic Personalized Pricing
Authors: DeCroix Gregory , Long Xiaoyang , Tong Jordan
Published: April 2021

Most service settings involve some degree of variability in the quality of customers’ experiences. An understudied mechanism is analyzed by which this variability can reduce firm revenues when customers do not know true service quality but rather learn about that quality over time based on their experiences. Essentially, customers get stuck with low-quality opinions and low purchase likelihoods after unusually bad experiences. However, high-quality opinions after unusually good experiences are quickly corrected. The authors show that dynamic pricing can help mitigate this effect. Specifically, if the firm can set individual prices so that each customer perceives the same surplus, then the variability impact is entirely eliminated. They also demonstrate that simpler heuristics similar to those observed in practice (requiring less information and pricing flexibility) can partially mitigate the revenue loss.
Prospective Observational Study on Prescribing Pattern of Antifungal Drugs in the 400 Out-Patient Department of Dermatology in a Tertiary Care Hospital
Authors: Naaz Rashmeen , Chand Sharad , UP Nandakumar , BC Vinay , KC Bharath Raj , Shetty Shricharith
Published: April 2021

Introduction: Fungal infections have been a serious disease over a few decades. Superficial fungal infections not only cause life-threatening illnesses but slowly reduce the Quality of life of patients. Objective: To study the prescribing pattern of antifungal drugs, distribution of fungal disease, and cost variability between different antifungal drugs prescribed. Materials and methods: Prospective observational study was carried out at Justice K.S. Hegde Charitable Hospital from August 2018 to April 2019. Outpatient departments patient satisfying the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Factors like age, gender, diagnosis, and type of prescribed antifungal drugs along with Price variability among different brands of the drug were considered. Antifungal drug prescriptions of patients were analyzed. Results: More than 50% of the patients were from age 21-40 yrs. Males (51.8%) were more than females (48%). The majority of the drugs prescribed were topically (64%). Tine a corpor is was the most prevalent fungal disease. The Azoles group of Antifungal was most prescribed. And the percentage variability between different brands was high. Conclusion: The study concluded the extensive use of antifungal agents. The highly prescribed drug was found to be luliconazole. The study also concluded that the use of generic prescriptions might reduce the cost of illness and enhance the rational use of the drug.
Relationship between Maternal and Cord Blood Iron Status in Women and their New Born Pairs
Authors: Bernhardt Grisilda Vidya , Jhancy Malay , Shivappa Pooja , Bernhardt Kavitha , R. T. Pinto Janita
Published: April 2021

Maintaining iron homeostasis is of great importance to the growing fetus and neonates. There is no consensus as to whether the neonates iron status is determined by fetal demands or by maternal iron status. There is no conclusive data confirming the likelihood of neonates born to anemic mothers suffering from compromised iron status. Therefore the aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship of iron indices between maternal and cord blood collected from mother and infant pairs and explore the association of maternal anemia on the iron status indicators of the cord blood. This prospective study included 60 mother and newborn pairs. The study population was subdivided as anemic and non-anemic groups based on hemoglobin (Hb) levels. The maternal venous blood samples were collected 1.5 h ± 20 min before the delivery. 5 ml of cord blood was collected soon after child birth. Samples were analyzed for hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin and iron. Significantly lower values of Hb, Ferritin, iron (p < 0.05) was observed in neonates born to anemic mothers when compared to the indices of neonates born to non-anemic mothers. On multivariate linear regression analysis , maternal Hb showed positive linear correlation with cord Hb and ferritin (r =0.87, p<0.05). However, correlation between maternal Hb and cord iron was not significant. Maternal anemia can effect neonatal iron stores. Lowered concentration of iron status indicators in cord blood of neonates born to anemic mothers indicates that fetal iron transfer may be dependent on that of the iron stores of the mothers. However, this process may involve complex factors.
The Ethyl Acetate Extraction Obtained from Podocarpus Nagikernel Meal with Anticancer Activity
Authors: Xiao Yuchen , Yong Jianping , Yang Yang , Lu Canzhong
Published: April 2021

Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide, and it is one of the top three major diseases in terms of mortality. Some small molecular synthesized drugs have been used clinically. However, much side-effects were also appeared during treatment of the cancer patients with the synthesized anticancer drugs in clinical. Some Chinese Traditional Plant Medicines have ever been used for treatment of cancer with the low side-effects. Thus, it is essential to find anticancer drugs or drug candidates from Chinese Traditional Plant Medicines. Podocarpus nagicontains different kinds of biological components together with a wide spectrum of biological activities, and it has ever been used in the folk of Yao Nationality for treatment different diseases. It is essential to study this folk plant medicine to discover new drugs or drug candidates. In this work, we obtained different polar extractions and evaluated their in vitro anticancer activity.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Breast Feeding Among Primiparous and Multiparous Mothers in an Urban Slum, West Tripura: A Comparative Cross Sectional Study
Authors: Mog Chanda
Published: April 2021

Background:Inadequate knowledge or inappropriate practices of breastfeeding may lead to undesirable consequences.Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding breastfeeding among primiparous and multiparous mothers in an urban slum. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 200 mothers (100 primiparous and 100 multipara) in an urban slum and eligible mothers were selected using simple random sample technique. Results: The mean knowledge score on breastfeeding for the primiparous mothers was 8.4 ±1.8 and multiparous was 9.5±2.2. The mean attitude score for the primiparous mothers was 47.27±3.09 and 48.38±2.7 for the multiparous mothers. Out of 200 mothers, 118 (59%) had adequate knowledge and 86 (43%) mothers were correctly done breast feeding practices. However, 52% multiparous were found more correctly practicing breastfeeding than primiparous (34%) and it was statistically significant (P=0.01). The level of knowledge among multiparaous (71%) were found more adequate than primiparous (47%) and significant difference was observed (P=0.001). Most of mothers (83%) had positive attitude towards breastfeeding (82% primiparous and 84% multiparous) and mothers did not have any negative attitude towards breastfeeding. Conclusions: The level of Knowledge is still needed to be improved in primipara mothers and however, the correct practice of breastfeeding was also found low in primipara mothers than multipara mothers. These findings suggest an urgent need for dissemination of information about optimal breastfeeding practices through mass media and education of mothers during antenatal visits and immunization sessions especially in primipara mothers in the study area.
Estimation of Number of Levels of Scaling the Principal Components in Denoising EEG Signals
Authors: Kumar B.Krishna
Published: April 2021

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is basically a standard method for investigating the brain’s electrical action in diverse psychological and pathological states. Investigation of Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal is a tough task due to the occurrence of different artifacts such as Ocular Artifacts (OA) and Electromyogram. By and large EEG signals falls in the range of DC to 60 Hz and amplitude of 1-5 µv. Ocular artifacts do have the similar statistical properties of EEG signals, often interfere with EEG signal, thereby making the analysis of EEG signals more complex[1]. In this research paper, Principal Component Analysis is employed in denoising the EEG signals. This paper explains up to what level the scaling of principal components have to be done. This paper explains the number of levels of scaling the principal components to get the high quality EEG signal. The work has been carried out on different data sets and later estimated the SNR.
Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Efficacy of Camellia Sinensis and Alstonia Scholaris Extracts on Streptococcus Mutans and Lactobacillus Acidophilus - An in Vitro Study.
Authors: Goel Shubhi , B R Chandra Shekar , S Chandan
Published: April 2021

Context Dental caries is showing an upward trend in India and there is a need to explore innovative strategies to prevent the disease. Literature evaluating antibacterial activity of Camellia sinensis and Alstonia scholaris plant extracts on Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus is practically non-existent.

Objectives - To assess the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and antimicrobial efficacy of Camellia sinensis and Alstonia scholaris on S. mutans and L. acidophilus.

Materials and method: This was an in vitro study carried over a period of three months. The leaves of Camellia sinensis and Alstonia scholaris were collected, and crushed to obtain coarse powder. Plant extraction was performed using Soxhelet appartus. Anti- oxidant assay was performed for both the plant extracts against DPPH radical using Spectrophotometer at 517nm. Inhibition percentage was calculated through absorbance value measured from spectrophotometer. Anti- microbial activity of both the plant extracts against Microbial Type Culture Collection strains of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus was assessed using Agar well diffusion method. 0.2% Chlorhexidine was used as positive control and ethanol as negative control. The experiment was performed in triplicates. Mean inhibition zone in each set of experiment was computed using three readings after accounting for well diameter. One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Tukey’s post hoc test and independent sample‘t’ test were performed to compare the mean inhibition zone.

Results: The plant extracts were effective against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Camellia sinensis at 4% concentration produced a mean inhibition zone of 30.3± 3.9 mm against Streptococcus mutans and 23.8± 2.2 mm against Lactobacillus acidophilus. Alstonia scholaris at 10% concentration produced a mean inhibition zone of 21.6± 2.8 mm against Streptococcus mutans and 24.1± 1.6 mm against Lactobacillus acidophilus.

Conclusion: Camellia sinensis and Alstonia scholaris have significant anti- oxidant and anti- microbial property against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus.
Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus Aureus in Healthy Children and its Possible Bacteriophage Isolates in Basrah, Iraq
Authors: M. Jamalludeen Nidham
Published: April 2021

There is an evidence of high infections with community acquired Staphylococcus aureus among the healthy children. Anterior nasal colonization with S. aureus plays important role of spreading such infections with this organism. To evaluate the prevalence of S. aureus among healthy children, nasal swabs were collected from 119 children within the age from 1 month to 5 years. Parents or/and guardians combined the children were also interviewed for a questionnaire associated with the organism risk factors. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in percentage of 14.28% out of 119 samples processed; among these 41.2% were Methicillin resistant S. aureus. The carriage of the organism was significantly noticed between the age groups that were live with big family size and were not attending preschool. In this study, the prevalence of MRSA was relatively high. Three bacteriophages specific for s. aureus were isolated as a candidate for biocontrol or treatment of the nasal carriages.
Reflectionless metasurface with high refractive index in the terahertz waveband
Authors: Harumi Asada , Endo Kota , Suzuki Takehito
Published: April 2021

Terahertz flat optics is a design concept for replacing conventional three-dimensional bulky optical components with two-dimensional ultra-thin optical components. However, high refractive index materials suitable for flat optics are frequently subject to high Fresnel reflections due to the cumbersome control of the relative permeability it requires. Here we experimentally demonstrate a reflectionless metasurface with a high refractive index of 5.88 + j1.57, extremely low reflectance of 1.3%, high relative permittivity of 6.73 + j0.85, and the high relative permeability of 5.03 + j2.11 at 2.97 THz. The super-fine ink-jet printer using silver paste ink fabricates the metasurface consisting of 80,036 pairs of cut metal wires on both the front and back of a 5 μm-thick polyimide film. The findings also demonstrate that weak conductors as well as good conductors can be used in the design of reflectionless metasurfaces with a high refractive index in the terahertz waveband. The presented metasurface can offer an accessible platform for terahertz flat optics in 6G (beyond 5G) wireless communications and imaging.
Real-time observation of pulsating period-doubled vector solitons in a passively mode-locked fiber laser
Authors: Du Wenxiong , Li Heping , Li Junwen , Wang Zhuang , Zhang Zhiyao , Zhang Shangjian , Liu Yong
Published: April 2021

Dissipative solitons (DSs) are self-organized localized structures in non-conservative systems, which require a continuous energy exchange with external sources. In addition to parameter-invariant stationary DSs, there exists a variety of dynamical ones manifesting breathing behaviors. Such intriguing phenomena, termed as soliton pulsations, have been widely studied in recent years under the impetus of advances in real-time spectroscopy. Here, we experimentally investigate various pulsating period-doubled solitons (PDSs) in a fiber laser mode-locked by single-wall carbon nanotubes. Both single- and double-periodic PDS pulsations are found in the cavity. Thanks to the emerging dispersive Fourier transform technique, the polarization-resolved transient spectra of these pulsating PDSs are measured. It is shown that their polarization ellipses rotate with a period of two cavity roundtrips. Moreover, the intensity-modulation behaviors of the two orthogonal polarization components in the odd (even) roundtrips are always asynchronous, which confirms additional slower polarization modulations. Especially, we demonstrate that three combined intensity-modulation periods are involved in the double-periodic PDS pulsation process for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Our results would stimulate further research on the vector features of multiple-period pulsating solitons in mode-locked fiber lasers.
Compact silicon three-mode multiplexer by refractive-index manipulation on a multi-mode interferometer
Authors: Wang Zhen , Yao Chunhui , Zhang Yong , Su Yikai
Published: April 2021

Mode-division multiplexing can scale the capacity of optical communications and optical interconnects. We demonstrate an ultra-compact and fabrication-error tolerant silicon three-mode multiplexer by shallowly etching rectangular trenches on a multi-mode interferometer. Depending on the selected input port, the TE0 mode is converted to the eigenmodes of the bus waveguide. These modes are coupled to each other owing to the refractive-index perturbation induced by the shallow trenches and finally converted to a selected spatial mode at the output. A three-mode multiplexing device is experimentally demonstrated with a footprint of 2.00 × 17.05 µm2. The bandwidths for the three channels are >70 nm with crosstalk values below –10 dB.
Covert wireless communication using massive optical comb channels for deep denoising
Authors: Yan Xianglei , Zou Xihua , Li Peixuan , Pan Wei , Yan Lianshan
Published: April 2021

Covert wireless communications are unprecedentedly vital for security and privacy of individuals, government, and military bodies. Besides encryption, hiding signal transmission deeply under noise background highly proliferates the covertness in the physical layer. A deep signal hiding leads to a low interception probability at the interceptor but a poor data recovery at the receiver. To ensure both high covertness and high-fidelity recovery, massive and dense optical comb channels are utilized for deep denoising through the analog spectrum convolution. Using an external modulation-based optical frequency comb (OFC) and a single detection branch, the available optical comb channels can sustainably scale up by breaking or greatly mitigating physical bottlenecks on immense hardware and spectrum requirements. Thus, a striking signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) rise can be achieved for deep denoising. Combination of 1024 comb channels (the first parallel comb channel number beyond 1000) and the analog spectrum convolution enable a record SNR enhancement of 29 dB for a microwave signal with a 10.24 GHz bandwidth and a 10 Mbit/s data rate, which is deeply hidden below the in-band noises by 18 dB or even 30 dB in both the frequency and time domains. This method opens a new avenue for covert communications.
The internal realities of individuals with type 2 diabetes–Psychological disposition in self-management behaviour via grounded theory approach
Authors: Swarna Nantha Yogarabindranath , Chelliah Azriel Abisheg Paul , Haque Shamsul , Md Zain Anuar Zaini
Published: April 2021

Background

A paradigm shift in the disease management of type 2 diabetes is urgently needed to stem the escalating trends seen worldwide. A “glucocentric” approach to diabetes management is no longer considered a viable option. Qualitative strategies have the potential to unearth the internal psychological attributes seen in people living with diabetes that are crucial to the sustenance of self-management behaviour. This study aims to identify and categorize the innate psychological dispositions seen in people with type 2 diabetes in relation to self-management behaviour.

Methods

We adopted a grounded theory approach to guide in-depth interviews of individuals with type 2 diabetes and healthcare professionals (HCP) at a regional primary care clinic in Malaysia. Twenty-four people with type 2 diabetes and 10 HCPs were recruited into the study to examine the inner narratives about disease management. Two focus group discussions (FGD) were also conducted for data triangulation.

Results

Participants’ internal dialogue about the management of their disease is characterized by 2 major processes– 1) positive disposition and 2) negative disposition. Optimism, insight, and awareness are important positive values that influence T2D self-care practices. On the other hand, constructs such as stigma, worries, reservations, and pessimism connote negative dispositions that undermine the motivation to follow through disease management in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Conclusions

We identified a contrasting spectrum of both constructive and undesirable behavioural factors that influence the ‘internal environment’ of people with type 2 diabetes. These results coincide with the constructs presented in other well-established health belief theories that could lead to novel behavioural change interventions. Furthermore, these findings allow the implementation of psychosocial changes that are in line with cultural sensitivities and societal norms seen in a specific community.
Genetics of wild and mass-reared populations of a generalist aphid parasitoid and improvement of biological control
Authors: Postic Estelle , Outreman Yannick , Derocles Stéphane , Granado Caroline , Le Ralec Anne
Published: April 2021

Due to their ability to parasitize various insect species, generalist parasitoids are widely used as biological control agents. They can be mass-reared and released in agroecosystems to control several pest species in various crops. However, the existence of genetic differentiation among populations of generalist parasitoid species is increasingly recognized and this can be associated with an adaptation to local conditions or to a reduced range of host species. Moreover, constraints of mass-rearing conditions can alter genetic variation within parasitoid populations released. These features could be associated with a reduced efficiency of the control of targeted pest species. Here, we focused on strawberry greenhouses where the control of aphids with the generalist parasitoidAphidius erviappears to be inefficient. We investigated whether this inefficiency may have both genetic and ecological bases comparing wild and commercial populations ofA.ervi. We used two complementary genetic approaches: one based on the mitochondrial marker COI and one based on microsatellite markers. COI analysis showed a genetic differentiation within theA.ervispecies, but the structure was neither associated with the commercial/wild status nor with host species factors. On the other hand, using microsatellite markers, we showed a genetic differentiation between commercial and wildA.ervipopulations associated with a loss of genetic diversity within the mass-reared populations. Our ecological genetics study may potentially explain the weak efficiency of biological control of aphids in protected strawberry crops and enable to provide some insights to improve biological control.
Gastronomía en el proceso social – histórico de Tacna: “Picante a la Tacneña, sincretismo ibero-puquina”. *
Gastronomy at historical and social process: “Picante a la Tacneña, ibero-puquina syncretism”
Authors: Osorio Soto Gary Martín
Published: April 2021

Abstract

The present article, have proposed the analytics approach on history and archeology about “Picante a la Tacneña”, a fundamental cuisine at cultural identity from Tacna. The culinary syncretism it’s a reflection about multifarious participation on the agent at process sociocultural and historical at adoption, mixed-race, and develop on a culinary dish. Understanding the sociocultural process to this dish will permitting make major and better information about the origin, generate deny at myths about the origin between at period realize on Chilenian occupation at Tacna y Arica (1880-1929). Version what is this a false premise, and continually bruit and misunderstood. However, the gastronomy base, the base concept about “Picante a la Tacneña” originates in the 16th and 17th centuries. The discussion if to know how the singular is and the structure about of that dish, understanding the diversity on geography, socio structure, and dispose of resources how is the characterize a Tacna region.

Resumen

El presente artículo promueve el análisis histórico y arqueológico del “Picante a la Tacneña”, comida fundamental de la identidad cultural de Tacna. El sincretismo culinario refleja la participación de múltiples agentes y procesos socio – históricos en la adopción, mestizaje y desarrollo de este plato. El entendimiento socio cultural de este plato, permitirá brindar mayores luces sobre su origen, desmontando los mitos de su “Origen” en el periodo de la ocupación de Tacna y Arica por parte de Chile (1880 – 1929). Versión la cual ha sido largamente difundida y mal interpretada. Sin embargo, la base gastronómica, se remonta entre los Siglos XVI al XVII, con lo cual, la discusión a plantear es la singularidad y composición única del plato, en un entorno de diversidad geográfica, social y de disponibilidad de recursos como es la característica de la Región de Tacna.
Waste generation as a side impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: Communication on correct disposal of single-use face masks
Authors: Tomaszewski Débora
Published: April 2021

The rapid global spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to urgent efforts to contain and mitigate transmission. The useof face masks became a primary measure to limit the spread, which increased the production and consequentwaste generation. It is estimated that globally 129 billion single-use face masks are discharged into the environment every month. Besides to add to already great concerns over plastic pollution, contaminated face masks not properly handled also poses a health risk. The health and environmental consequences caused by the inadequate disposal of single-use face masks are treated in this study as an eminent risk to be properly communicated. This study framed the waste generation as a side impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and analysed how the communication has been made regarding the correct disposal of single-use masks, with focus in users of public transport in Stockholm region. National and regional authorities are recognized as the main responsibles for the communication about correct disposal, together with manufacturers and suppliers of single-use face masks. Disclosure and informative material of four government authorities and instruction manuals of eight brands of single-use face masks are analysed according to: i) presence / absence of information (about the disposal); ii) type of communication (visual or written); iii) message transmitted and; ix) availability in other languages.It was found guidance about correct disposal of face mask in two thirds of the existing communication, that is mainly written and with few visual aids. Half of communication is made only in Swedish and with no sufficient focus on the importance of correct disposal neither with reference to trash bins with lid. It suggests that the current communication about how to disposesingle-use masks safelymay not be enough, which is affecting the perception of risk by the population and worsening the health and environmental consequencescaused by the inadequate disposal.
The Shallow Gibbs Network, Double Backpropagation and Differential Machine learning
Authors: ALAHASSA Nonvikan Karl-Augustt , Murua alejandro
Published: April 2021

We have built a Shallow Gibbs Network model as a Random Gibbs Network Forest to reach the performance of the Multilayer feedforward Neural Network in a few numbers of parameters, and fewer backpropagation iterations. To make it happens, we propose a novel optimization framework for our Bayesian Shallow Network, called the {Double Backpropagation Scheme} (DBS) that can also fit perfectly the data with appropriate learning rate, and which is convergent and universally applicable to any Bayesian neural network problem. The contribution of this model is broad. First, it integrates all the advantages of the Potts Model, which is a very rich random partitions model, that we have also modified to propose its Complete Shrinkage version using agglomerative clustering techniques. The model takes also an advantage of Gibbs Fields for its weights precision matrix structure, mainly through Markov Random Fields, and even has five (5) variants structures at the end: the Full-Gibbs, the Sparse-Gibbs, the Between layer Sparse Gibbs which is the B-Sparse Gibbs in a short, the Compound Symmetry Gibbs (CS-Gibbs in short), and the Sparse Compound Symmetry Gibbs (Sparse-CS-Gibbs) model. The Full-Gibbs is mainly to remind fully-connected models, and the other structures are useful to show how the model can be reduced in terms of complexity with sparsity and parsimony. All those models have been experimented with the Mulan project multivariate regression dataset, and the results arouse interest in those structures, in a sense that different structures help to reach different results in terms of Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Relative Root Mean Squared Error (RRMSE). For the Shallow Gibbs Network model, we have found the perfect learning framework : it is the $(l_1, \boldsymbol{\zeta}, \epsilon_{dbs})-\textbf{DBS}$ configuration, which is a combination of the \emph{Universal Approximation Theorem}, and the DBS optimization, coupled with the (\emph{dist})-Nearest Neighbor-(h)-Taylor Series-Perfect Multivariate Interpolation (\emph{dist}-NN-(h)-TS-PMI) model [which in turn is a combination of the research of the Nearest Neighborhood for a good Train-Test association, the Taylor Approximation Theorem, and finally the Multivariate Interpolation Method]. It indicates that, with an appropriate number $l_1$ of neurons on the hidden layer, an optimal number $\zeta$ of DBS updates, an optimal DBS learnnig rate $\epsilon_{dbs}$, an optimal distance \emph{dist}$_{opt}$ in the research of the nearest neighbor in the training dataset for each test data $x_i^{\mbox{test}}$, an optimal order $h_{opt}$ of the Taylor approximation for the Perfect Multivariate Interpolation (\emph{dist}-NN-(h)-TS-PMI) model once the {\bfseries DBS} has overfitted the training dataset, the train and the test error converge to zero (0).
The Shallow Gibbs Network, Double Backpropagation and Differential Machine learning
Authors: Murua Alejandro , ALAHASSA Nonvikan Karl-Augustt
Published: April 2021

We have built a Shallow Gibbs Network model as a Random Gibbs Network Forest to reach the performance of the Multilayer feedforward Neural Network in a few numbers of parameters, and fewer backpropagation iterations. To make it happens, we propose a novel optimization framework for our Bayesian Shallow Network, called the {Double Backpropagation Scheme} (DBS) that can also fit perfectly the data with appropriate learning rate, and which is convergent and universally applicable to any Bayesian neural network problem. The contribution of this model is broad. First, it integrates all the advantages of the Potts Model, which is a very rich random partitions model, that we have also modified to propose its Complete Shrinkage version using agglomerative clustering techniques. The model takes also an advantage of Gibbs Fields for its weights precision matrix structure, mainly through Markov Random Fields, and even has five (5) variants structures at the end: the Full-Gibbs, the Sparse-Gibbs, the Between layer Sparse Gibbs which is the B-Sparse Gibbs in a short, the Compound Symmetry Gibbs (CS-Gibbs in short), and the Sparse Compound Symmetry Gibbs (Sparse-CS-Gibbs) model. The Full-Gibbs is mainly to remind fully-connected models, and the other structures are useful to show how the model can be reduced in terms of complexity with sparsity and parsimony. All those models have been experimented with the Mulan project multivariate regression dataset, and the results arouse interest in those structures, in a sense that different structures help to reach different results in terms of Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Relative Root Mean Squared Error (RRMSE). For the Shallow Gibbs Network model, we have found the perfect learning framework : it is the $(l_1, \boldsymbol{\zeta}, \epsilon_{dbs})-\textbf{DBS}$ configuration, which is a combination of the \emph{Universal Approximation Theorem}, and the DBS optimization, coupled with the (\emph{dist})-Nearest Neighbor-(h)-Taylor Series-Perfect Multivariate Interpolation (\emph{dist}-NN-(h)-TS-PMI) model [which in turn is a combination of the research of the Nearest Neighborhood for a good Train-Test association, the Taylor Approximation Theorem, and finally the Multivariate Interpolation Method]. It indicates that, with an appropriate number $l_1$ of neurons on the hidden layer, an optimal number $\zeta$ of DBS updates, an optimal DBS learnnig rate $\epsilon_{dbs}$, an optimal distance \emph{dist}$_{opt}$ in the research of the nearest neighbor in the training dataset for each test data $x_i^{\mbox{test}}$, an optimal order $h_{opt}$ of the Taylor approximation for the Perfect Multivariate Interpolation (\emph{dist}-NN-(h)-TS-PMI) model once the {\bfseries DBS} has overfitted the training dataset, the train and the test error converge to zero (0).
Continuous Cycle of Water Desalination Utilizing
Hydrogel as Draw Agent.
Authors: Fayer Alexander
Published: April 2021

This document discusses operation of desalination system permanently extracting water from hydrogel draw agent by specially selected wicks. Due to its peculiarity the system combines advantages of both forward and reverse osmosis approaches such as, low power consumption, passive process of a freshwater extraction, continuous duty cycle and scaling possibility. While in modern systems an energy consumption of seawater desalination reaches of about 3 kWh/m
3, including pre-filtering and ancillaries [1], the same parameter for the specific system expected to be as low as for local fresh water supplyi.e., 0.2 kWh/m
3
Aspectos jurídicos da cooperação internacional em saúde pública: um encontro necessário entre saúde, direito e relações internacionais
Authors: De Barcellos Nicole Rinaldi , Bidinotto Augusto Bacelo
Published: April 2021

Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar os aspectos jurídicos da cooperação internacional em saúde pública, abordando-se a importância desta na concretização do direito à saúde como um objetivo global. Para desenvolver o objetivo proposto, o estudo foi dividido em duas partes. Na primeira parte propõe-se uma análise do conceito de saúde, seguida da investigação sobre o reconhecimento do direito à saúde como direito humano e fundamental. Na segunda parte são analisados os aspectos jurídicos da cooperação internacional em saúde. Cuida-se de uma análise bibliográfica de caráter dedutivo. Conclui-se que a institucionalização da cooperação internacional em saúde pública é tema que torna necessário o encontro entre relações internacionais, o direito e a saúde pública, em uma cooperação política, jurídica e técnica, permitindo-se o intercâmbio entre Estados e autoridades sanitárias, para que seja possível o alcance de agenda global comum no tema da saúde pública.
As histórias em quadrinhos e a história das relações internacionais
Authors: Cardozo José Carlos da Silva
Published: April 2021

O presente texto busca compreender as Histórias em Quadrinhos (HQs) como um produto social que revela várias das características de uma época, para tanto, será analisado as HQs do Capitão América, sua trajetória até o presente momento, para refletir sobre o período de sua produção e os debates em que o mesmo personagem foi inserido. Abordar as HQs no ensino de história das relações internacionais é uma forma de tornar não só mais atrativo o conhecimento, mas, principalmente, dar mais dinamicidade a abordagem de temas pertinentes ao ensino de forma mais atrativa e contemporânea para o educando, bem como abordar questões mais latentes da sociedade, com o preconceito racial ou sexual
Differential mRNA Expression in Ileal Mucosal Biopsies of Patients With Diarrhea- or Constipation-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Authors: Wang Xiao Jing , Carlson Paula , Chedid Victor , Maselli Daniel B. , Taylor Ann L. , McKinzie Sanna , Camilleri Michael
Published: April 2021

INTRODUCTION:

Previous studies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) showed immune activation, secretion, and barrier dysfunction in duodenal, jejunal, or colorectal mucosa. This study aimed to measure ileal mucosal expression of genes and proteins associated with mucosal functions.

METHODS:

We measured by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of 78 genes (reflecting tight junction proteins, chemokines, innate immunity, ion channels, and transmitters) and 5 proteins (barrier, bile acid receptor, and ion exchanger) in terminal ileal mucosa from 11 patients with IBS-diarrhea (IBS-D), 17 patients with IBS-constipation (IBS-C), and 14 healthy controls. Fold changes in mRNA were calculated using 2(−Δ, ΔCT) formula. Group differences were measured using analysis of variance. Protein ratios relative to healthy controls were based on Western blot analysis. Nominal P values (P < 0.05) are reported.

RESULTS:

In ileal mucosal biopsies, significant differences of mRNA expression in IBS-D relative to IBS-C were upregulation of barrier proteins (TJP1, FN1, CLDN1, and CLDN12), repair function (TFF1), and cellular functions. In ileal mucosal biopsies, mRNA expression in IBS-C relative to healthy controls was reduced GPBAR1 receptor, myosin light chain kinase (MYLK in barrier function), and innate immunity (TLR3), but increased mRNA expression of cadherin cell adhesion mechanisms (CTNNB1) and transport genes SLC9A1 (Na-H exchanger [NHE1]) and INADL (indirect effect on ion transport).

DISCUSSION:

These data support a role of ileal mucosal dysfunction in IBS, including barrier dysfunction in IBS-D and alterations in absorption/secretion mechanisms in IBS-C.
Endoscopic Resection Before Surgery Does Not Affect the Recurrence Rate in Patients With High-Risk T1 Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Takamaru Hiroyuki , Saito Yutaka , Sekiguchi Masau , Yamada Masayoshi , Sakamoto Taku , Matsuda Takahisa , Sekine Shigeki , Ochiai Hiroki , Tsukamoto Shunsuke , Shida Dai , Kanemitsu Yukihide
Published: April 2021

INTRODUCTION:

Patients with high-risk T1 colorectal cancer (CRC) after endoscopic resection (ER) should undergo surgery in view of the risk of lymph node metastasis. Although additional surgery can potentially prevent recurrence, there is a paucity of data and longitudinal studies exploring this potential. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the prolonged influence of ER before additional surgery on recurrence in T1 CRC.

METHODS:

Between January 2004 and October 2015, 162 patients who underwent secondary surgery (SS) after ER ([ER + SS] group) and 392 consecutive patients with T1 CRC who underwent primary surgery at our institution were retrospectively analyzed. Recurrence was analyzed in these 2 groups. High-risk CRC patients were histologically defined according to the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum guidelines (2016) for the treatment of CRC. Data were analyzed based on clinical and histological features, including lymph node metastasis, and the number of lymph nodes evaluated.

RESULTS:

The recurrence rate was comparable between the ER + SS and primary surgery groups, with no significant difference (P = 0.625, log-rank test). There was no significant difference in the recurrence in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy in both groups (7.4% vs 10.4%, P = 0.27). The difference in the mean number of lymph nodes dissected between both groups was also not significant (24.3 vs 25.3, P = 0.43).

DISCUSSION:

There was no significant difference in recurrence rates between patients undergoing ER before surgery and those undergoing primary surgery for high-risk T1 CRC. Hence, ER may be acceptable for high-risk T1 CRC.
A Medição e Análise de Prumagem e Planeza na Construção de Fachadas e Pisos/Lajes de Edifícios
Authors: Santos Catarina Maria Ribeiro dos , Seixas Andréa de , Garnés Silvio Jacks dos Anjos , Póvoas Yêda Vieira
Published: April 2021

Este trabalho analisa o desempenho de métodos geodésicos/topográficos para o controle da planeza de superfícies horizontais, como pisos e lajes, e de superfícies verticais, assim como controle de prumagem de fachadas. Assim são propostas diretrizes para a implementação de uma metodologia para alcançar maior qualidade posicional e moderação das despesas, aperfeiçoando o processo construtivo destes elementos. O controle geométrico periódico da prumagem e planeza em um edifício predial é importante para o controle de qualidade da execução de obras. Através da discretização de superfícies, por meio de uma grade regular de pontos-objeto, a regressão linear múltipla possibilita a avaliação de planos, reconstituindo superfícies. Este trabalho contempla a implantação do sistema geodésico de referência planialtimétrico, ajustamento pelo método dos mínimos quadrados, análise de variâncias para comparação de resultados obtidos pelos métodos geodésicos/topográficos e respectivas incertezas, além da aplicação da regressão linear para estudo da planeza e prumagem. As superfícies investigadas tiveram suas coordenadas tridimensionais determinadas, para fins de comparação dos resultados. Toda a análise estatística foi realizada a um nível de confiança de 95%, provando que o método de irradiação 3D apresenta resultados sem diferença significativa quando comparados com os demais métodos empregados. Após a análise estatística e comprovação do método de medição, a regressão linear múltipla permitiu a reconstituição dos planos horizontais e verticais e a avaliação da prumagem da fachada, ou seja, o quanto esta, se apresenta inclinada, tornando-se assim, outro método investigativo, além do clássico mapeamento de fachada adotado na construção civil, com base em prumos verticais.
O Efeito das Covariâncias entre os Componentes de Linha Base sobre a Confiabilidade de Redes GNSS: Resultados para uma Rede com Alta Redundância
Authors: Bonimani Maria Luísa Silva , Rofatto Vinicius Francisco , Matsuoka Marcelo Tomio , Klein Ivandro , Veronez Mauricio Roberto , Silveira Jr Luiz Gonzaga da
Published: April 2021

A mais recente versão da teoria da confiabilidade tem sido utilizada para descrever a capacidade de um sistema de medição em detectar, identificar e remover outliers a um certo nível de probabilidade. Entretanto, as aplicações desta teoria têm sido direcionadas para redes simuladas de nivelamento. Aqui, por outro lado, aplicamos a teoria no contexto de redes baseadas nos sistemas de posicionamento por satélites GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), a partir de dados reais coletados em campo. Testamos se as covariâncias entre as componentes da linha base têm efeito sobre a confiabilidade. Verificamos que as covariâncias entre as componentes da linha base aumentam a taxa de sucesso na identificação de outlier e, portanto, aumentam a confiabilidade da rede. O menor outlier identificável – ao nível de 80% de correta identificação – teve uma redução média de ~30% para as componentes ΔX e ΔY, e ~14% para ΔZ em comparação ao cenário com covariâncias nulas. O aumento do nível de significância melhora a confiabilidade em ambos os cenários (covariâncias nulas e não-nulas) na mesma proporção. Porém, para altos níveis de significância (α > 0,1) e sistemas com boa redundância (ri > 0,5), a confiabilidade para um modelo estocástico com covariâncias nulas se aproxima do caso em que as covariâncias não são nulas. Na ausência de um modelo estocástico mais realista (covariâncias não-nulas) e para sistemas com boa redundância local (ri > 0,5), deve-optar por regiões críticas maiores ( k < 2,8).
Webometric Analysis of Institutional Repositories of Malaysian Public Universities
Authors: Ismail Nor Azman , Ramzi Nurina Izzati , Mohamed Su Elya Namira , Razak Mohd Sharul Hafiz
Published: April 2021

An institutional repository (IR) is one of the resources available in most university libraries that have attracted external publishers, search engines and social media to link, share and index IR content. The traditional citation-based indicators of a publication may not reflect the IR quality and have led to the creation of new indicators such as webometrics or web metrics. This study aims to analyse and explore Malaysia’s public university IR visibility, the numbers of an external link, page count, PDF count and URL web mention. We utilised backlinks web crawler and web search engine to collect raw data. A visualisation was created using the force-directed graphing method to interpret the IR network in the webspace. This study revealed that two research universities, Universiti Malaya (UM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), dominate web visibility based on webometrics indicators. All non-research universities are at the bottom of the rankings. This study shows institutional repositories from research universities are more visible in academic social networks and digital library sites. In contrast, non-research universities need to improve their visibility by mapping the universities’ IRs websites through hyperlink exchange and collaboration activities between each university and promoting the university publication to the academic social network sites.