bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geopolitical Transformation of the Caspian Region: Directions and Development Outcomes
Authors: Zhil’tsov S. , Tulinov B.
Published: February 2023

The geopolitical reshaping of the Caspian region, which began after the collapse of the USSR, continues. Over the past decades, a network of transport corridors has expanded in this area, and a new architecture of pipelines delivering oil and gas to foreign markets has been formed. The Caspian states actively develop cooperation in the energy sphere that serves as a basis for development. Significant progress has been achieved on the key issue of the international legal status of the Caspian Sea. The signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea in 2018 stabilized the geopolitical situation, defined common approaches of the states to solving regional problems and outlined ways for further cooperation. After the signing of the Convention, the key principles of multilateral cooperation between the countries of the region in different areas were formulated, establishing their priority in determining major directions of the region’s development. The 6th Summit of the Caspian States, held in June 2022, consolidated the main approaches to cooperation in the region. The meeting resulted in the creation of multilateral mechanisms for interaction and implementation of new infrastructure projects in the region. At the same time, new trends have emerged in recent years, and they have unique characteristics. This indicates the high dynamics of the processes that is taking place in the Caspian Sea. The methodological basis of the study is a systematic analysis of the processes unfolding in the region in the light of foreign policy changes and the transformation of the role of external actors.
A Analysis of Environmental Education for the Next Generation Using Combined Disjoint Block Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (CDBFCMS)
Authors:   Ph.D Research Scholars, PG & Research Department of Mathematics, Loyola College, Chennai, India., Mr S. Alexandar , Devadoss A.Victor ,   Head & Associate Professor, PG & Research Department of Mathematics, Loyola College, Chennai, India., Anand M. Clement Joe ,   Ph.D Research Scholars, PG & Research Department of Mathematics, Loyola College, Chennai, India., Mr A.Felix ,   MSc Mathematics, PG & Research Department of Mathematics, Loyola College, Chennai, India.
Published: February 2023

God created the human beings; for the well-being of human, He created the earth and all the things in the surroundings, which is very useful and helpful. But human fail to keep the purity of the Gods creation. Then the outcome of human activities, our environment is polluted. Now we are in the situation to save the earth and our environment. Various ideas have been introduced for teaching and importing the environmental sciences through formal and informal education. These attempts have created environmental awareness. In this paper we analyzed EE, how it impact to the primary students using Combined Disjoint Block Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (CDBFCM). This method is introduced by W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy and A. Victor Devadoss. The Combined Disjoint Block FCM is defined in this method becomes effective when the number of concepts can be grouped and are in large numbers. This paper has five sections. First section gives the information about development of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps and Environment Education. Second Section gives preliminaries of Fuzzy Cognitive maps and Combined Disjoint Block Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. In Section three, we explain method of determining the hidden pattern. In the fourth section, we give the concepts of problem. Final section gives the conclusion based on our study
Associative Analysis of Software Development Phase Dependency
Authors:   Associate Professor, MSCAS, Chennai, Ms N.Sasikala
Published: February 2023

The Success of software development is based on the developers involvement and the adapted software architectures. The software development activities are highly dependent one with another in all its phases. The software development activities and its dependency of the internal activities are influences the quality of the software. The Associative analysis of software development which is focused to determine to identify the potential developers in line with the software development models. The potential software developer is identified based on the cumulative weight of developers contribution on each phases and its activities weight. The activity relationships are presented as a unit matrix and the common phase activity is calculated to determine dependency between the phases in each module, projects as per the selected as per the selected software architecture. A neural network model is constructed and identifies the developers weight related to their interaction between one phase of the project to another on the same project. The occurrence relationship and its frequency values are obtained according to the number of activities involved by each developer in their entire development process. The weight values supported to identify the influencing factors of the developers in different models. It will leads to identify the potential developers, future project planning and business planning activities.
Curse of Dimensionality in Paradoxical High Dimensional Clinical Datasets A Survey
Authors:   Research Scholar, Computer Applications, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, India, Ms S.Rajeswari , Ms M.S.Josephine ,   Professor, Computer Applications, Dr.MGR University, Chennai, India, Mr V.Jeyabalaraja ,   Professor, Computer Science & Engineering,, Velammal Engineering College, Chennai, India
Published: February 2023

Data storage and retrieval is one among the challenging process in the field of computation. The storage and retrieval of multi-dimensional unstructured conflict data are needs the conversion of structure process. The storage has the major impact on access and computation time. A significant analysis of very large data sets involves different types of datasets as paradoxical high dimensional data. The ideal case assumptions are that data are collected in equal length intervals and while comparing the length are not valid for many real data sets especially clinical data sets. In addition the datasets are different from each other, the data are paradoxical and varies by each medical data. In this paper, the concept of hierarchical clustering with dendrogram structure is used to represent the paradoxical high dimensional clinical datasets. These large clusters of high dimensional datasets are of different dimensions and they may produce much noise and mask the real data to be diverse. There is a survey of clustering techniques used in paradoxical high dimensional clinical datasets and which will be highlighted by the dendrogram representation and also to reduces the dimensions of different clusters.
GNH- Cultural Diversity and Resilience in Bhutan
Authors:   Student, Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Duba Tshering , Choden Phuntsho ,   Student, Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Yudon Sonam ,   Student, Gaeddu College of Business Studies
Published: February 2023

There are many components and factors through which Gross National Happiness can be realized. But this paper attempts to the exploration of Cultural diversity and Resilience in achieving Gross National Happiness. The key importance of culture includes instilling values for the full development of human being, to meet spiritual and emotional needs, to temper the pace of modernization and the negative impacts of globalization, to safeguard and strengthen the countrys sovereignty and security, to develop resilience, and to promote diversity for meaningful contribution.However this paper attempts to assess the indicators of cultural diversity and resilience in Bhutan in achieving the Gross National Happiness this paper mainly talks about how the indicators of cultural diversity and resilience in Bhutan helps to contribute to the Gross National Happiness.
Bell's Theorem Begs the Question
Authors: Christian Joy
Published: February 2023

I demonstrate that Bell's theorem is based on circular reasoning and thus a fundamentally flawed argument. It unjustifiably assumes the additivity of expectation values for dispersion-free states of contextual hidden variable theories for non-commuting observables involved in Bell-test experiments, which is tautologous to assuming the bounds of ±2 on the Bell-CHSH sum of expectation values. Its premises thus assume in a different guise the bounds of ±2 it sets out to prove. Consequently, what is ruled out by the Bell-test experiments is not local realism but the additivity of expectation values, which does not hold for non-commuting observables in any hidden variable theories to begin with.
Rola elektroencefalografii w diagnostyce i monitorowaniu przebiegu ostrego zapalenia mózgu u dzieci. Opis przypadków
Authors:   Klinika Chorób Zakaźnych i Neurologii Dziecięcej Instytutu Pediatrii, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. K. Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu, Kemnitz Paweł , Frąszczak Justyna ,   Klinika Chorób Zakaźnych i Neurologii Dziecięcej Instytutu Pediatrii, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. K. Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu, Mania Anna ,   Klinika Chorób Zakaźnych i Neurologii Dziecięcej Instytutu Pediatrii, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. K. Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu, Jończyk-Potoczna Katarzyna ,   Zakład Radiologii Pediatrycznej Instytutu Pediatrii, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. K. Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu, Figlerowicz Magdalena ,   Klinika Chorób Zakaźnych i Neurologii Dziecięcej Instytutu Pediatrii, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. K. Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu
Published: February 2023

Badania neuroelektrofizjologiczne umożliwiają nieinwazyjną ocenę czynności układu nerwowego, pełniąc tym samym istotną rolę w procesie diagnostycznym schorzeń neurologicznych. Elektroencefalografia jest najpowszechniej wykorzystywanym badaniem z tej grupy, mającym przede wszystkim zastosowanie w rozpoznawaniu chorób o charakterze napadowym. Niewątpliwymi zaletami metody są powtarzalność i możliwość porównywania w czasie, co w połączeniu z bezinwazyjnością rozszerza jej zastosowanie o monitorowanie przebiegu choroby. W pracy przedstawiamy opisy trojga pacjentów leczonych w Klinice z powodu zapalenia mózgu, u których wykorzystanie elektroencefalografii miało istotne znaczenie w potwierdzeniu wstępnego rozpoznania i umożliwiło włączenie adekwatnego, intensywnego leczenia.
Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome occurrence in family (case of a rare syndrome in siblings)
Authors:   Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Pieczonka-Ruszkowska Ilona , Demuth Wojciech ,   Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Wołyńska Katarzyna ,   Department of Medical Genetics, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Figlerowicz Magdalena ,   Department of Infectious Diseases and Child Neurology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Published: February 2023

Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome (MSS) is a rare malformation syndrome inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. The most typical features are cerebellar ataxia with cerebellar atrophy, dysarthria, nystagmus, early-onset cataract, myopathy, hypotonia and muscle weakness. Additional symptoms often include psychomotor delay, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and short stature. We present a case of a 6-year-old boy admitted to the Department due to psychomotor developmental retardation for completion of further diagnostics. Initial diagnostics led to a preliminary diagnosis of Marinesco-Sjögren syndrome, ultimately confirmed by genetic testing. When the patient’s younger brother was born, he presented with similar symptoms. Knowledge of his older sibling’s diagnosis aided in immediately using single- -gene testing to confirm the presence of two mutated copies of the SIL1 gene. This finding allowed to establish a proper diagnosis in the younger brother, leading to immediate multi-specialist intervention.
Controls on grain-size variability in the Holocene fill of the Indus Submarine Canyon
Authors: Li Yuting , Clift Peter D.
Published: February 2023

What processes control grain size and bed thickness in submarine canyon deposits? Erosive, shelf-cutting canyons contrast with accretionary basin-floor submarine fan accretionary channels because the former tightly constrain turbidity flows in deep channels. This study addresses such a deep-water depositional system in the Indus Submarine Canyon using a series of cores collected along the canyon. Grain-size analysis was conducted for turbidite and hemipelagic sediment deposited in the Holocene Indus Submarine Canyon mostly by diffuse, fine-grained turbidity currents and hemipelagic hypopycnal plumes. We investigate the links between sedimentary grain size, bedding thickness, facies, and canyon morphology. Well-sorted silt in layers mostly < 2 cm thick dominates the canyon. Core sites in the canyon located downstream of knickpoints have coarser, less well sorted sediments because of current acceleration in these areas and then the slowing of flows downslope. Sediments fine with increasing height above the canyon thalweg, implying deposition from a turbulent plume head. The great depth of the canyon, caused by the exceptionally wide shelf and steep slope, prevents channel overspill which controls sedimentation and channel form in submarine fans. Thalweg sediment fines down-canyon into the mid canyon, where sediment bypassing is inferred. The thickest turbidites are found in the sinuous lower canyon where the gradient shallows from ∼ 0.7° to 0.3°. However, canyon gradient has little impact on mean grain size, but does correlate with bed thickness. The active canyon channel, located in a channel belt gradually becomes less steep, more meandering, and narrower farther downstream. Sinuosity is an influence on turbidite bedding thickness but does not control grain size, in contrast to the situation in submarine-fan channel–levee complexes. Compared to the well-known, more proximal Monterey Canyon of California the grain sizes are much finer, although both systems show evidence of > 200 m plume heads.
ANÁLISIS ESTRUCTURAL DE LA ESCALA DE DEPENDENCIA Y ADICCIÓN AL SMARTPHONE (EDAS) EN UNIVERSITARIOS PERUANOS
Authors: Sánchez-Villena Andy Rick , Domínguez-Lara Sergio , Aranda María , Fuentes Gutiérrez Virginia , García-Domingo Marta
Published: February 2023

El Smartphone es usado con múltiples propósitos tanto profesionales como personales. Se apunta a que la versatilidad que ofrece a los usuarios, la normalización y generalización de su uso, puede originar conductas disfuncionales o, incluso, adictivas. Un problema emergente hace necesario el desarrollo y revisión de instrumentos de evaluación de las interacciones persona-Smartphone. Objetivos. Analizar las evidencias de validez de contenido, de estructura interna y fiabilidad de la Escala de Adicción al Smartphone (EDAS) en Perú. Método. Estudio instrumental con 328 estudiantes universitarios peruanos con edades entre los 17 y 41 años (79.6% mujeres; M=28.48 DE=4.23). Se utilizó la Escala de Dependencia y Adicción al Smartphone (EDAS). Resultados. Mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio, se mostraron mejores índices de ajuste (CFI = .930; RMSEA = .072, IC90% .065- .079; WRMR = 1.220) para el modelo unidimensional con 23 ítems de la EDAS, así como adecuada fiabilidad del constructo (ω = .934). Conclusiones. La EDAS cuenta con adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para la medición de la adicción al Smartphone en universitarios peruanos, indicando un instrumento unidimensional de 23 ítems.
Disfrute y realización personal a través del deporte como factores protectores del consumo de alcohol: El rol moderador del rasgo búsqueda de sensaciones impulsiva
Authors: Schmidt Vanina , Molina María Fernanda , Celsi Ignacio , Corti Juan Facundo , Raimundi María Julia
Published: February 2023

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar el poder predictivo del disfrute y la realización personal sobre el consumo de alcohol de jóvenes deportistas, explorando el papel de la búsqueda de sensaciones impulsiva y del género en esta relación. Método. Participantes: 362 jóvenes (15 a 29 años) deportistas de Argentina. Instrumentos: Cuestionario sociodemográfico, Escala de Disfrute en el Deporte, Escala de Sentido de Realización Personal, Cuestionario de Identificación de los Trastornos Debidos al Consumo de Alcohol y Escala de Búsqueda de Sensaciones. Resultados. Los deportistas que consumen alcohol de manera infrecuente presentan mayor disfrute y realización personal comparados con quienes realizan un consumo frecuente. Entre los varones, el involucramiento, afecto positivo y realización personal predicen la frecuencia de consumo, mientras que entre las mujeres solo el involucramiento resulta predictor. Asimismo, el involucramiento predice una menor frecuencia de consumo y ausencia de consumo excesivo episódico solo en jóvenes con baja búsqueda de sensaciones. Conclusiones. Trabajar para facilitar el disfrute con el deporte podría ser una de las estrategias posibles para aumentar los efectos positivos de la práctica deportiva sobre el consumo de alcohol, aunque es necesario continuar indagando el caso de los jóvenes que presentan una alta búsqueda de sensaciones impulsiva.
Validación de una escala para evaluar la adicción a Internet
Authors: Ruiz-García Rosa Isela , Jiménez Mejía Juan Carlos , Miranda Herrera Florencio
Published: February 2023

La definición del uso prolongado de Internet como una adicción no es clara. Se han utilizado diversas estrategias en un intento de recuperar datos empíricos que permitan suponer este uso como una adicción. Destaca el diseño de instrumentos de evaluación para la adicción a Internet. Sin embargo, existen pocos instrumentos confiables y válidos que permitan su evaluación. El propósito del presente estudio fue desarrollar un instrumento que permita medir la adicción a Internet, el cual integra los parámetros de la adicción a sustancias junto con los parámetros de adicción conductual. Se utilizó una escala Likert con 29 ítems y se aplicó a 128 estudiantes universitarios que cumplieron con los criterios establecidos. Los resultados indicaron la presencia de 6 factores que contienen un total de 26 ítems y que lograron explicar el 69.47% de la varianza total. Además, el instrumento en general obtuvo una consistencia interna aceptable con un alfa de Cronbach de 0.917. De las variables cuyos pesos factoriales cargaron de forma importante, se obtuvieron alfas que van desde 0.86 para el primer factor a 0.64 para el sexto factor. Se sugiere que el instrumento es una opción válida y confiable que permitirá evaluar el uso adictivo de Internet.
PROVENANCE: Empoderamiento ciudadano mediante la tecnología para tomar decisiones informadas en la lucha contra la desinformación
Authors: Dinant Ines , Espiritusanto Nicolás Óscar
Published: February 2023

La exposición de las personas a la infoxicación (Renjith, 2017), la creación de burbujas informativas (Pariser, 2017) y la infosaturación (Dias, 2014) generada a través de la formación de las cámaras de eco juegan un papel fundamental en la creación y difusión de la desinformación.
El objetivo de esta investigación es entender los elementos que fundamentan la toma de decisiones para el establecimiento de estos filtros con el propósito de desarrollar una herramienta que rompa las cadenas de la desinformación; la extensión [xxx]
Para ello, se ha empleado una metodología cualitativa desarrollada en dos etapas. En la primera, se realizó un análisis conceptual de la problemática a través de un recorrido teórico y dos entrevistas grupales. En la segunda se realizaron 10 entrevistas individuales para evaluar la extensión de [xxx].
En el análisis se puede observar como estos filtros actúan en el recorrido de la desinformación y como la audiencia intenta romper estas burbujas con acciones, dependiendo del tipo de información consultada y del filtro emocional.
La extensión [xxx] ofrece un modo de alerta temprana basada en los datos que ofrecen los algoritmos y sin emitir juicios de valor sobre las informaciones. Además, su utilización habitual llega a ser formativa.
Optical vortex induced spatio-temporally modulated superconductivity in a high-Tc cuprate
Authors: Toda Yasunori , Tsuchiya Satoshi , Yamane Keisaku , Morita Ryuji , Oda Migaku , Kurosawa Tohru , Mertelj Tomaz , Mihailovic Dragan
Published: February 2023

We report an experimental approach to produce spatially localized photoinduced superconducting (SC) state in a cuprate superconductor using optical vortices (OVs) with ultrafast pulses.
The measurements were carried out using coaxially aligned three-pulse time-resolved spectroscopy, in which an intense OV pulse was used for coherent quenching of SC and the resulting spatially modulated metastable states were analyzed by the pump-probe spectroscopy.
The transient response after quenching by the OV pulse shows a spatially localized SC that remains unquenched at the dark core of the OV for a few picoseconds.
Because the SC quenching is instantaneously driven by photoexcited quasiparticles, the OV beam profile can be transferred directly to the electron system.
By using the OV-induced SC, we demonstrate spatially resolved imaging of the SC response and show that the spatial resolution can be improved using the same principle as that of super-resolution microscopy for fluorescent molecules.
The demonstration of spatially controlled photoinduced SC is significant for establishing a new method for exploring novel photoinduced phenomena and applications in ultrafast optical devices.
The role and function of secretory protein MMP3 in cervical cancer
Authors: Shao Lei , Wang Xiaojuan , Liu Wanqiu , Zhang Chunyan , Ma Wei , Yu Xiao , Han Jing
Published: February 2023

OBJECTIVE
Cervical cancer(CCA) is the second commonest malignancy among female all over the world, and present clinical treatments cannot solve the problems of high metastasis and chemotherapy-resistant in CCA. This study starts with RNA-seq analysis and aims to investigate the possibility of secretory protein MMP3 as a new diagnosis and therapeutic target in CCA.
METHODS
Through conjoint analysis of gene expression data as well as survival rate data, we explored the potential secretary proteins associated with CCA carcinogenesis and advance and verify the expression changes in serum of clinical patients. We knockdown or overexpress the secretory proteins then explore its influence on biological function of CCA cells. Cell viabilities and apoptosis levels are detected using CCK-8 kit and TUNEL staining assay respectively, the expression of apoptosis related proteins was verified by western blot.
RESULTS
By cross-analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and MetazSecKB database, MMP3 gene was most significantly upregulated in CCA patients. Also, MMP3 protein was remarkably increased in the serum of clinical CCA patients and decreased after receiving treatment. Overexpression of MMP3 in HT-3 cells or culturing new cells using the supernatant of the medium after MMP3 overexpression could increase cell viability (p < 0.05) as well as proliferation (p < 0.05). What’s more, knockdown of MMP3 reduced the phosphorylation of PI3K as well as AKT proteins, while the PI3K phosphorylation inhibitors could suppress the impact of MMP3 on increasing cell proliferation as well as viability.
Conclusion
The secreted protein MMP3 is significantly related to the development and progression of CCA in clinical, and MMP3 can inhibit apoptosis of CCA cells through regulating PI3K/Akt signal pathway. Therefore, this study suggests that MMP3 could be an underlying target for early diagnosis, together wo and treatment of CCA in the future.
Vitamin B12 deficiency-related glossitis is highly associated with serum high gastrin-17 and low pepsinogen I
Authors: Zhu Jingci , Feng Huang , He Yining , Wang Yufeng , Ge Zili
Published: February 2023

Background

To investigate the correlation between vitamin B12 deficiency-related glossitis (B12-def glossitis) and gastric serum biomarkers [gastrin-17(G17), pepsinogen I (PGI), pepsinogen II (PGII), and anti-H. pylori antibodies] and to analyze the association between B12 deficiency and gastric mucosal function and status.

Methods

A total of 148 patients diagnosed with B12-def glossitis were enrolled in the case group. Another 110 patients without manifestations of glossitis and B12-def were in the control group. General information, medical history, oral mucosa examination, and hematological results were extracted from patients’ medical records. The gastric serum biomarkers were compared between the case and control groups. Based on the oral lesions, case group patients were divided into atrophic or erythematous types, and hematological results were compared between the two groups. Subgroup analysis was also performed according to the results of gastric serum biomarkers in the case group to compare the degree of B12 deficiency in different subgroups and the effects on erythrocytes and oral mucosa.

Results

Of the 133 patients in the case group who underwent gastric serological testing, 112 (84.6%) showed serum high G17 and low PGⅠ levels (hereafter referred to as G17hi PGⅠlow), compared with 6.4% in the control group and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant. Hemoglobin (HB) concentration and red blood cell (RBC) amount were more likely to decrease in atrophic type, while the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) increased. Low serum B12 concentration, high serum folate concentration, and low prevalence of H. pylori infection were found in the G17hi PGⅠlow group and the gastrectomy group, all with statistically significant differences compared with those of the non- G17hi PGⅠlow group.

Conclusion

Gastric serum biomarkers in patients with B12-def glossitis generally showed G17hi PGⅠlow, suggesting possible atrophy of gastric corpus mucosa. The G17hi PGⅠlow and non- G17hi PGⅠlow groups may represent two or more different etiologies of B12 malabsorption. Patients with the erythematous form are probably in the early stages of B12 deficiency.
SMYD3 promotes endometrial cancer through epigenetic regulation of LIG4/XRCC4/XLF complex in non-homologous end joining repair
Authors: Wen Lu , Huang Yujia , Tang ming , Hu Zhiyi , Cai Bailian , Chen Guofang , Jiang Lijun , Xia Yan , Guan Pujun , Li Xiaoqi , Mao Zhiyong , Wan Xiaoping
Published: February 2023

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of female genital tract with rapid increased incidence worldwide. Histone methyltransferase SMYD3, which is linked to the development and progression of various cancers, however, its oncogenic function in endometrial cancer has not been investigated thus far. In the present study, we report that the expression level of SMYD3 is significantly upregulated in EC samples and associated with EC progression. In vivo and in vitro functional experiments demonstrate that SMYD3 depletion inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities, increasing the sensitivity of EC cells to radiation. Moreover, with pathway enrichment analysis, we find that the DNA damage repair pathway is mainly involved in regulating EC progression. Mechanically, in response to DNA damage, SMYD3 is recruited to DNA damage sites in an PARP1-dependent manner and specifically methylates LIG4. Methylated LIG4 sequentially assembles LIG4/XRCC4/XLF complex and participates in non-homologous end joining repair (NHEJ) pathway. More importantly, pharmacological targeting of SMYD3 with its specific inhibitor BCI-121, significantly represses the tumorigenicity of EC cells and greatly enhanced radiotherapy efficiency. Overall, our data suggest SMYD3 as a pivotal factor in NHEJ repair and is associated with in EC progression. Using in vitro and in vivo system, we also prove that SMYD3 is a promising pharmacological target for endometrial cancer therapy.
Accurate Identification of Fly Species in Forensic, Medical and Veterinary Entomology using Wing Venation Patterns
Authors: Ling Min Hao , Ivorra Tania , Heo Chong Chin , Wardhana April Hari , Hall Martin Jonathan Richard , Tan Siew Hwa , Mohamed Zulqarnain , Khang Tsung Fei
Published: February 2023

In forensic, medical and veterinary entomology, the ease and affordability of image data acquisition have resulted in whole-image analysis becoming an invaluable approach for species identification. Krawtchouk moment invariants are a classical mathematical transformation that can extract local features from an image, thus allowing subtle species-specific biological variations to be accentuated for subsequent analyses. We extracted Krawtchouk moment invariant features from binarised wing images of 759 male fly specimens from the Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, and Muscidae families (13 species and a species variant). Subsequently, we trained the Generalized, Unbiased, Interaction Detection and Estimation (GUIDE) random forests classifier using linear discriminants derived from these features and inferred the species identity of specimens from the test samples. Five-fold cross validation results show a 98.56 ± 0.38% (standard error) identification accuracy at the family level, and a 91.04 ± 1.33% identification accuracy at the species level. The mean F1-score of 0.89 ± 0.02 reflects good balance of precision and recall properties of the model. The present study consolidates findings from previous small pilot studies of the usefulness of wing venation patterns for inferring species identities. Thus, the stage is set for the development of a mature data analytic ecosystem for routine computer image-based identification of fly species that are of forensic, medical, and veterinary importance.
Association between SGLT2 inhibitors and diabetic ketoacidosis among patients fasting in Ramadan
Authors: Ruqaib Abdullah M Al , Ghamdi Abdulrahman Aidh Al , Jamaan Abdulaziz Al , Abdulmowla Majd Muwafak , Deaji Fahad F Al , ALsuwaidan Salem
Published: February 2023

Aims: The use of SGLT2 inhibitors during Ramadan may be unsafe (risk of ketoacidosis, postural hypotension and dehydration), specifically during long hours of Ramadan fasting in hot climates. The objective of this study was to determine the main risk factors associated with the increased occurrence of DKA during Ramadan among patients utilising SGLT2 inhibitors and assess DKA risk during Ramadan.
Methods: This retrospective diagnostic study assessed the role of SGLT2 inhibitors in 99 patients (50 men and 49 women) with declared diabetes mellitus treated with empagliflozin and followed-up in diabetes clinics. The main variables were:
1. Demographic data (age and gender).
2. Number of break days during Ramadan fasting.
3. Comorbidities associated with diabetes.
4. Signs and symptoms of DKA.
Most of the patients (61 subjects) had a 6–10 year diabetes history, and 93 patients continued their regular follow-up. About 93% of the patients were used to Ramadan fasting, whereas only five patients did not fast in Ramadan.
Results: Thirty-one of the fasting patients broke fasting during Ramadan for 1–5 days, and only two patients did so for more than 6 days. Patients exhibited known diabetes mellitus complications, such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, cardiovascular and other associated diseases. None of the participants showed diabetic ketoacidosis signs and symptoms.
Conclusions: SGLT2 inhibitors are considered an effective antidiabetic agent that can be safely used in patients with diabetes who are fasting in Ramadan.
Comparison of student performance on the pre-internship medical qualification examination at Debre Tabor University, Ethiopia
Authors: Belay Lalem Menber , Melkamu Yewulsew Assaye , Wassie Fentahun Dires
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Competency assessment has a substantial impact on both the quality of education and the quality of care. Debre Tabor University has been administering pre-internship qualification exams to ensure clinical competence and readiness for internship practice. A variety of assessment methods, including MCQs, objective structured clinical exams, and external exams were used. The reliability of results can be determined by how consistently students perform across different assessment formats.
Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the scores obtained on the different assessment formats used in the pre-internship qualification examination.
Methods: A correlational study was conducted at the College of Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia from November to December 2019. Participants of the study were medical students who completed their fifth-year medical education. All 46 fifth-year medical students who took the qualifying exam were included in the analysis. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and mean as well as inferential statistics like Pearson's correlation. The analysis was done with STATA software.
Results: The mean performance score ranged from 67.9 on multiple-choice questions to 77.2 on viva. Relatively, students performed better on the viva test and poorly on the OSCE. There was no significant difference in the overall performance of male and female students, however, female students were better in long- and short-case exams. For female students, the correlation between performance scores was stronger. When compared to their written exam results, female students performed much better on the long-case, short-case, and oral exams, but men did not show such a difference.
Conclusions: Students performed better on the oral examination. The study demonstrated a disparity between female and male students on the level of performance in the clinical skills exams. Among female students, there was a substantial correlation between cognitive ability and clinical performance. Gender was an effect modifier for the correlation between cognitive ability and clinical skill performance in the medical qualification examination.
Combining graph convolutional networks and Chebyshev polynomial approximation of spectral filter to improve spectral clustering
Authors: Ni Zhongyuan , Liu Jinglei
Published: February 2023

Spectral clustering(SC) is a widely used method of unsupervised learning, which is effective in dealing with many real-world applications. However, existing SC simply drops in three deficiencies. Firstly, the traditional SC cannot learn an effective representation among non-Euclidean data. Secondly, for the present algorithms based on spectral clustering, it is necessary to carry out eigendecomposition of the Laplace matrix, that is very time consuming when processing large-scale data. Thirdly, in large-scale data, the application of the k-means algorithm for spectral clustering will also waste time. To solve these issues, we combine Graph Convolutional Network and Chebyshev polynomial approximation of spectral filter to improve spectral clustering (CGCSC). Specifically, the proposed CGCSC algorithm first uses Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN) to express and analyze non-Euclidean data, and then builds the Laplace matrix. Meanwhile,we use Chebyshev polynomial approximation of spectral filter technology to avoid the eigendecomposition of the Laplace matrix, which is completely different from traditional ways. Additionally, this paper adopts a uniform distribution sampling technique, which can do a random sample of graph signals, further reduce the data scale and improve the k-means’speed in SC. The performance of CGCSC is tested on artificial and natural datasets. Compared with several advanced clustering algorithms, the experiment shows that CGCSC can considerably improve the clustering speed, and at the same time ensuring the clustering accuracy.
PRMT5-exacerbating tumor stemness and immunosuppression confer a novel immunotherapeutic vulnerability in aggressive prostate cancer
Authors: Zou Cheng , Xu Bin , Li Wenchao , He Qinju , Liu Ruifang , Zhang Yuanzhen , He Lingjing , Tracz Amanda , Zhao Ruizhe , Yuan Kai , Hu Qiang , Liu Song , Gao Guozhen , Bedford Mark , Tang Dean , Zhang Dingxiao
Published: February 2023

Protein arginine methylation is a common post-translational modification (PTM) catalyzed by nine protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs). As the major symmetric arginine methyltransferase that methylates both histone and non-histone substrates, PRMT5 plays key roles in a number of biological processes critical for development and tumorigenesis. PRMT5 overexpression has been reported in multiple cancer types including prostate cancer (PCa), but the exact biological and mechanistic understanding of PRMT5 in aggressive PCa remains ill-defined. Here, we show that PRMT5 is upregulated in PCa, correlates with worse patient survival, promotes corrupted RNA splicing, and functionally cooperates with an array of pro-tumorigenic pathways to enhance oncogenesis. PRMT5 inhibition via either genetic knockdown or pharmacological inhibition reduces stemness with paralleled differentiation and arrests cell cycle progression without causing appreciable apoptosis. Strikingly, the severity of antitumor effect of PRMT5 inhibition correlates with disease aggressiveness, with AR+ PCa being less affected. Molecular characterization pinpoints MYC, but not (or at least to a lesser degree) AR, as the main partner of PRMT5 to form a positive feedback loop to exacerbate malignancy in both AR+ and AR- PCa cells. Inspired by the surprising finding that PRMT5 negatively correlates with tumor immune infiltration and transcriptionally suppresses an immune-gene program, we further show that although PRMT5 inhibitor (PRMT5i) EPZ015666 or anti-PD-1 immunotherapy alone exhibits limited antitumor effects, combination of PRMT5i with anti-PD-1 displays superior efficacy in inhibiting castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) in vivo. Finally, to expand the potential use of PRMT5i through a synthetic lethality concept, we also perform a global CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screen to unravel that many clinical-grade drugs of known oncogenic pathways can be repurposed to target CRPC when used in combination with PRMT5i at low doses. Collectively, our findings establish a rationale to exploit PRMT5i in combination with immunotherapy or other targeted therapies to treat aggressive PCa.
Investigating the effect of mixed probiotics on the hippocampal tissue and stress hormone levels and BDNF gene expression in the first generation offsprings of male mice whose mothers received chronic immobility stress during pregnancy
Authors: azimian hosein akbar , navaeian majid , pakpour bahareh
Published: February 2023

Introduction: simply put, probiotics are beneficial bacteria for our body and play an important role in chronic stress. They have an effect on the behavior of creatures and are transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy. New research has confirmed the effect of probiotics on reducing stress. This study aimed to assess the effects of probiotics on pregnancy stress in first generation off springs in mice.
Method: In this experimental study, 24 mice with a weight range of 28 to 38 g were identified and placed in 3 groups; normal, water, PRB(probiotic ). The probiotic group received immobility stress with probiotic gavage during pregnancy. The water group received saline-induced immobility stress during pregnancy, and the normal group received none stress and gavage. Each group consisted of 8 male offsprings. The elevated plus maze and hole board tests were carried out. The levels of BDNF gene expression in the brain of mice were measured. Serum corticosterone and ACTH levels were measured, then the hippocampus tissue in mice was examined using hematoxylin and eosin staining.
Results: Behavioral tests showed that the open arm time among offsprings whose mothers had received probiotics during stress was greater than the other groups, which indicated a lower level of stress. Measurement of corticosterone and ACTH hormones in the serum of first generation neonates showed that the amount of hormones in the probiotic group was significantly reduced compared to the other two groups. The level of BDNF gene expression in the probiotic group was higher than in the water group and the number of dead hippocampal cells in the brain of the pro biotic group mice was less than the number of dead cells in the hippocampus of the water group mice.
Discuss: Consumption of probiotics during pregnancy can reduce stress in first generation children, which was proven by behavioral tests and hormonal and tissue tests in the present study. Probiotics with antioxidant roles seem to reduce cellular inflammation and, by absorbing a variety of vitamins and neurotransmitter precursors, they play an important role in reducing stress in first generation off springs.
Clinical testing of transcriptome-wide expression profiles in high-risk localized and metastatic prostate cancer starting androgen deprivation therapy: an ancillary study of the STAMPEDE abiraterone Phase 3 trial
Authors: Attard Gerhardt , Parry Marina , Grist Emily , Mendes Larissa , Dutey-Magni Peter , Sachdeva Ashwin , Brawley Christopher , Murphy Laura , Proudfoot James , Lall Sharanpreet , Liu Yang , Friedrich Stefanie , Ismail Mazlina , Hoyle Alex , Ali Adnan , Haran Aine , Wingate Anna , Zakka Leila , Wetterskog Daniel , Amos Claire , Atako Nafisah , Wang Victoria , Rush Hannah , Jones Robert , Leung Hing , Cross William , gillessen silke , Parker Chris , Chowdhury Simon , Lotan Tamara , Marafioti Teresa , Urbanucci Alfonso , Schaeffer Edward , Spratt Daniel , Waugh David , Powles Thomas , Berney Daniel , Sydes Matthew , Parmar Mahesh , Hamid Anis , Feng Felix , Sweeney Christopher , Davicioni Elai , Clarke Noel , James Nicholas , Brown Louise
Published: February 2023

Metastatic and high-risk localized prostate cancer respond to hormone therapy but outcomes vary. Following a pre-specified statistical plan, we used Cox models adjusted for clinical variables to test associations with survival of multi-gene expression-based classifiers from 781 patients randomized to androgen deprivation with or without abiraterone in the STAMPEDE trial. Decipher score was strongly prognostic (p<2x10-5) and identified clinically-relevant differences in absolute benefit, especially for localized cancers. In metastatic disease, classifiers of proliferation, PTEN or TP53 loss and treatment-persistent cells were prognostic. In localized disease, androgen receptor activity was protective whilst interferon signaling (that strongly associated with tumor lymphocyte infiltration) was detrimental. Post-Operative Radiation-Therapy Outcomes Score was prognostic in localized but not metastatic disease (interaction p=0.0001) suggesting the impact of tumor biology on clinical outcome is context-dependent on metastatic state. Transcriptome-wide testing has clinical utility for advanced prostate cancer and identified worse outcomes for localized cancers with tumor-promoting inflammation.
How climate policy reduces green financing risk
Authors: Zheng Huanhuan
Published: February 2023

The social impact of climate policy can be transformed into private benefit to green finance through attracting sustainable investors, who seek to increase the social impact of their green investments. Comparing green and conventional bonds issued before and after the adoption of climate policy, we show that climate policy strengthens corporate capacity to borrow foreign capital in local-currency green bonds. This uncovers a new role of climate policy in reducing an important source of international financing risk that challenges financial stability: the currency mismatch risk arising from borrowing in foreign currency while earning in local currency. In this vein, climate policy is an analogy of credible monetary policy for green finance. The role of climate policy in reducing currency mismatch risk is more pronounced for firms with higher ESG scores, richer international green financing experience, and from markets with better environmental performance.
JEL: G18, F34, Q54, Q58
Simulation of Pollutant Diffusion in Vegetation Open Channel Based on LBM-CA Method
Authors: Wang Shiyu , Zhuo Jialin , Jia Fengcong , Deng Liuhong , Wang Hongru , Han Yu
Published: February 2023

The aim of the present study was to accurately assess the changes in the degree of instantaneous pollution of natural river. In this paper, a pollutant diffusion model (LBM-CA) for vegetation open channel is constructed. This model consists partly of Cellular Automaton (CA), and the main task of this part is to simulate the pollutant diffusion. Flow influence coefficient is introduced into Cellular Automata to express the influence of vegetation on pollutant diffusion. In order to obtain the flow influence coefficients for each cellular, Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is introduced in the LBM-CA model to simulate the flow in vegetation open channels. The results show that the LBM-CA model has high accuracy. The simulation results show that the existence of vegetation will lead to the accumulation of pollutants and prolong the residence time of pollutants in the vegetation area. The pollutant limits are embedded in the LBM-CA model to predict the pollution level of the basin at a specific time. LBM-CA model provides a method for simulating pollutants diffusion in natural rivers.
A hybrid deep neural network with statistical learning algorithms for flood susceptibility modeling
Authors: Ghobadi Morteza , Ahmadipari Masumeh
Published: February 2023

Flood, with its environmental impact, is a naturally destructive process usually causes severe damage. Therefore, the determination of the areas susceptible to flood by the latest tools, which can render precise estimations, is essential to mitigate this damage. In this study, it was attempted to evaluate flood susceptibility in Lorestan, Iran using a novel hybrid approach including Deep Neural Network (DNN), Frequency Ratio (FR), and Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA). For this purpose, a geospatial database of floods, including 142 flood locations and 10 flood influencing variables, was used to predict the flood susceptibility areas. FR and SWARA were applied to weigh and score the flood influencing variables, while DNN, which is an excellent tool of machine learning and artificial intelligence, was used to prepare the inference flood pattern. The performance of the models was checked by the area under the curve (AUC), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and various statistical tests. The outputs indicated that both of the proposed algorithms, DNN-FR and DNN-SWARA, were able to estimate the future flood zones with a precision of over 90%. The outputs also confirmed that although the two algorithms had a high goodness-of-fit and prediction accuracy, the DNN-FR (AUC = 0.953) outperformed the DNN-SWARA (AUC = 0.941). Thus, the DNN-FR algorithm was proposed to be applied as a more reliable and accurate tool for spatial estimation of flood zones.
A mode-locked random laser generating transform-limited optical pulses
Authors: Weid Jean von der , Correia Marlon , Tovar Pedro , Gomes Anderson , Margulis Walter
Published: February 2023

Ever since the mid-1960’s, locking the phases of modes enabled the generation of laser pulses of duration limited only by the uncertainty principle, opening the field of ultrafast science. In contrast to conventional lasers, random lasers usually lack at least a mirror and generally emit broadband low-coherence light. They have, nevertheless, cavity modes that distinguish them from amplifiers and superluminescent light sources. Mode spacing in random lasers is ill-defined because optical feedback comes from scattering centres at random positions. Although progress has been made towards locking spatial and longitudinal modes in random lasers, the literature lacks reports on transform-limited pulse generation despite the many decades of the field. Here the generation of sub-nanosecond transform-limited pulses from a mode-locked random fibre laser is described. Exceedingly weak (<-73 dB) Rayleigh backscattering from decimetre-long sections of telecom fibre serves as laser feedback, providing narrow spectral selectivity to the Fourier limit. This unique laser is adjustable in pulse duration (0.34-20 ns), repetition rate (0.714-1.05 MHz) and can be temperature tuned. The high spectral-efficiency pulses are applied in distributed temperature sensing with 9.0 cm and 3.3x10-3 K resolution, exemplifying how the results can drive advances in the fields of spectroscopy, telecommunications, and sensing.