bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stimulating Demand for Electric Vehicles in the World and Russian Context
Authors: Dezhina I. , Radnabazarova S.
Published: June 2022

The article evaluates global and Russian experience of government stimulation of demand for electric vehicles among the population. All measures can be divided into financial (direct and indirect) and non-financial (related to the benefits of operating an electric car). Foreign experience shows that at the initial stages of market development, direct financial measures prove to be the most effective. Non-financial measures are the most impactful in combination with the direct support. Countries-car producers are cautious about the measures aimed at restrictions for traditional cars with internal combustion engines. In Russia the electric vehicles market is at the initial stage of development. The government started to provide incentives in a pilot mode, with the focus on indirect financial measures, and only for purchase of localized and domestic electric vehicles. A test survey conducted among potential buyers of electric cars in Russia has revealed that only about one-fifth of respondents is considering the purchase of electric vehicles and about a half of the respondents doubted the advisability of buying an electric car. There are a number of preconceptions about the effectiveness of the new technology. This perception hampers the demand. For potential buyers the introduction of direct subsidies would be the most important factor for making decision about purchasing an electric car. Quite a variety of indirect measures is also in demand because for potential buyers of electric vehicles the major drivers are the price of a car and the cost of electric vehicle performance. Non-financial measures are important only for about 15% of respondents. This is an indicator of low interest in decarbonization goals among population.
Study of Economic Value of Water for Domestic and Agricultural Uses in Grojogan Sewu Nature Tourism Parkwater Conservation
Authors:   Universitas Diponegoro, Kusumaningsih Dyah
Published: June 2022

The water utilization in Grojogan Sewu Nature Tourism Park has been used by community around it to fulfill their water needs such as cooking and farming. In the other hand, it is presumed that they have still lack of awareness and appreciation about the conservation object. One of the efforts to increase the community awareness for the water conservation in Grojogan Sewu Nature Tourism Park is to inform the economic value of the water they use every day. This study aims to analyze the economic value of domestic water use and agricultural irrigation that has been carried out by the community around the Grojogan Sewu TWA area. The research method used in this research is quantitative and qualitative methods. The results showed that the economic value of the use of domestic water and agricultural irrigation by the community around the TWA Grojogan Sewu area was Rp238,565,600,000/month and Rp7,548,750.00/year. This result shows that the economic value of water utilization in TWA Grojogan Sewu is quite high, although the community is not aware of it. This can be illustrated by the value of the community's willingness to pay for the use of water which is still in the fairly low category, which is only Rp7,687,00/month for domestic water use and Rp6,818.00/month for the use of agricultural irrigation.
Preservation Efforts of Pranajiwa (Euchresta Horsfieldii (Lesch.) Benn.) Based on Tri Hita Karana by Balinese Community
Authors:   Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, Hasan Rubangi
Published: June 2022

Pranajiwa (Euchresta horsfieldii (Lesch.) Benn.) has been widely used as traditional medicine by the Balinese ethnic community. Up to now, the raw materials for traditional medicines from E. horsfieldii are harvested directly from their natural habitat. It is feared that it will interfere with its sustainability. The Balinese ethnic community has a culture known as the Tri Hita Karana (THK) concept, which means there is a balance in the relationship between humans and God, nature, and with fellow humans. This study aims to identify the use of E. horfieldii and its conservation efforts based on THK. This research was carried out in communities living around Bedugul, Bali. The method of data collection was done by participatory observation and semi-structured interviews. The research informants were 33 people with a purposive sampling method. The criteria are based on the level of knowledge and use of E. horsfieldii. Data were analyzed and interpreted descriptively. The results of this study indicate that E. horsfieldii has been widely used to treat various diseases and is practiced by many traditional healers (balian). However, people also use it for treatment without a standardized dose. This causes the measure of its use is very diverse. Harvesting of E. horsfieldii is carried out by the community while still observing the principle of sustainability according to the THK philosophy. Harvesting of E. horsfieldii is mostly done for individual needs. Although there has been a practice of buying and selling E. horsfieldii, harvesting has not resulted in over-exploitation. Efforts to conserve E. horsfieldii have been carried out by the community, especially the balians by trying to cultivate it, although they still fail. In addition, the conservation of E. horsfieldii is carried out by the Bali BKSDA with efforts to maintain the habitat of E. horsfieldii in forest areas.
Multi-Scale Object Detection with Pixel Attention Mechanism in Complex Background
Authors: Xiao Jinsheng , Guo Haowen , Yao Yuntao , Zhang Shuhao , Zhou Jian , Jiang Zhijun
Published: June 2022

The object detection task is usually affected by complex backgrounds. In this paper, a new image object detection method is proposed, which can perform multi-feature selection on multi-scale feature maps. By this method, a bidirectional multi-scale feature fusion network is designed to fuse semantic features and shallow features to improve the detection effect of small objects in complex backgrounds. When the shallow features are transferred to the top layer, a bottom-up path is added to reduce the number of network layers experienced by the feature fusion network, reducing the loss of shallow features. In addition, a multi-feature selection module based on the attention mechanism is used to minimize the interference of useless information on subsequent classification and regression, allowing the network to adaptively focus on appropriate information for classification or regression to improve detection accuracy. Because the traditional five-parameter regression method has severe boundary problems when predicting objects with large aspect ratios, the proposed network treats angle prediction as a classification task. The experimental results on the DOTA dataset, the self-made DOTA-GF dataset and the HRSC 2016 dataset show that, compared with several popular object detection algorithms, the proposed method has certain advantages in detection accuracy.
A Perspective for Economic and Social Unfoldings of AI
Authors: Oliveira Hime
Published: June 2022

This paper aims to introduce an overview of several aspects of the so-called Artificial Intelligence, their potential impacts on economic and social dimen- sions, and suggestions for possible approaches of investiment based upon effective and mature techniques. In this fashion, it is important to address from educational and academic issues to industrial densities and profiles, rel- atively to a given region, country or continent. Even etymological adequacy and psychological consequences of the denomination ”Artificial Intelligence” need some reflection, and suggestions for a lucid replacement are presented. In addition, suggestions about how can specific firms choose the right type of technique in order to improve profit and organizational efficiency. After all, what are the main transformations needed to amplify gains and structural improvements from the use of higher level technological mecha- nisms? Which connections can be established between the pillars of evolu- tionary economics and this field of knowledge? Which institutional contexts are able to benefit from AI tools, inducing constructive externalities to firms in terms of education, technical and scientific skills upgrading, so as to reach higher levels of employment in the long term and limit unemployment in the short one? Which branches of the so-called Artificial Intelligence are best suited to which types of activities? This work aims to contribute in the search for answers to these questions.
Theoretical Perspectives on the Gas-phase Oxidation Mechanism and Kinetics of Carbazole Initiated by OH Radical in the Atmosphere
Authors: Teng Zhuochao , Wang Xiaotong , Hadizadeh Mohammad Hassan , Han Yanan , Zhao Xianwei , Zhang Qi , Wang Hetong , Li Ying , Xu Fei , Sun Yanhui
Published: June 2022

Carbazole is one of the typical heterocyclic aromatic compounds (NSO-HETs) observed in pol-luted urban atmosphere, which has become a serious environmental concern. The most im-portant atmospheric loss process of carbazole is the reaction with OH radical. The present work investigated the mechanism of OH-initiated atmospheric oxidation degradation of carbazole by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the M06-2X/6-311++G(3df,2p)//M06-2X/6-311+G(d,p) level. The rate constants were determined by the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory. The lifetime of carbazole determined by OH was compared with other typical NSO-HETs. The theoretical results show that the degradation of carbazole initiated by OH radical includes four types of reactions: OH additions to “bend” C atoms, OH additions to “benzene ring” C atoms, H abstractions from C-H bonds and the H ab-straction from N-H bond. The OH addition to C1 atom and the H abstraction from N-H bond are energetically favorable. The main oxidation products are hydroxycarbazole, dialdehyde, carba-zolequinone, carbazole-ol, hydroxy-carbazole-one and hydroperoxyl-carbazole-one. The calcu-lated overall rate constant of carbazole oxidation by OH radical is 6.52 × 10−12 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 and the atmospheric lifetime is 43.92 h under the condition of 298 K and 1 atm. The lifetime of carbazole determined by OH radical is similar with that of dibenzothiophene oxidation but longer than those of pyrrole, indole, dibenzofuran and fluorene. This work provides a better understanding of the reactivity of carbazole in the atmospheric environment, the formation of secondary organic aerosols, and the chemical degradation and removal of carbazole in the at-mospheric environment.
Unroofing Curettage for Treatment of Simple and Complex Sacrococcygeal Pilonidal Disease
Authors: Olcucuoglu Engin , Sahin Alpaslan
Published: June 2022

Sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition with an incidence of 26:100,000 in the United States. However, its etiology and optimal treatment remain controversial. We included 129 and 74 patients with simple and complex sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease, respectively. The primary outcome was pilonidal sinus recurrence after unroofing curettage. Secondary outcomes were pain scores, time to return to work/school, and time to complete recovery. At a median follow-up of 53 months, the recurrence rate was 4.9% in all patients, not significantly higher in subjects with the complex disease. Duration of surgery (15.4 vs. 12.2 min), time to return to school/work (9.8 vs. 7.7 days), and complete healing time (44 vs. 36 days) were longer in patients with the complex disease. Postoperative complication rates, pain scores, and quality of life scores between the two groups did not differ. Unroofing curettage may be a good first-choice treatment for both simple and complex sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease.
Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis of Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Primary School Students
Authors: ASLAN Ömer Şahin , GÖCEN Salih , ŞEN Sedat
Published: June 2022

The purpose of this study was to estimate the mean value for the reliability coefficients reported by the studies using the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Primary School Students (MASPSS) and to examine the sources of the variation of the reliability coefficients reported in each study. A reliability generalization meta-analysis study was conducted by combining the Cronbach's alpha values of 34 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The Cronbach’s alpha values used in the studies were converted to the transformed coefficient values by applying the Bonett transformation, and the analyses were carried out under the random-effects model. The mean Cronbach's alpha value of the MASPSS across 34 studies was found to be .855 (95% CI: .841-.869), and this result was statistically significant (p
Adversarial artificial intelligence : implications for military operations
Authors: Yu Harland , Chopra Saransh
Published: June 2022

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are at the forefront of current research to help military analysts deal with triaging ever larger amounts of data from deployed sensors. These automated approaches will become increasingly embedded into the military decision making process, which makes it crucial to understand how these algorithms generate outputs and how sensitive they are to perturbations during training or classification. In other words, humans must have a ‘theory of mind’ for these sets of approaches in order to begin to trust them enough to make life or death decisions. Research in this area is known as adversarial examples for artificial intelligence / machine learning. Previous works in this domain focused on degrading classification performance with respect to added noise to new data. Some of these works achieved notable results on image data by subtly increasing noise, such that the image appeared unaltered to the human eye, but significantly impacted performance (Athalye et al. 2017). Povolny and Trivedi (2020) achieved similar results, but made a small visually obvious change to induce a degradation in performance. One notable work examined the effects of an increase in physical scale of the sensed environment (such as the large areas recorded for remote sensing platforms) on adversarial perturbations (Czaja et al. 2018). This technical note (TN) describes an initial foray into understanding how physical changes to the appearance of military vehicles resulted in performance degradation for a convolutional neural network (CNN). The military vehicles chosen were the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the M1064 Mortar Carrier. As stand-ins for the actual vehicle, plastic scale models were used, each a 1/35 scale replica. The results of this research have yielded a curated training and test data set of images related to the M2 and M1064, trained models based on a combined ResNet / Inception implementation from the Keras project, and adversarial examples mocked up using the scale models with images taken by a smartphone.
A Case Report on Carcinosarcoma of the Pancreas with a Concise Literature Review
Authors: Santos Christine , Samonte Rosalie Sabina Michiko
Published: June 2022

Carcinosarcoma is a rare neoplasm that most commonly affects the uterus. In the pancreas, fewer than thirty cases are reported worldwide. We present a 47-year-old female with epigastric pain, and jaundice. Histopathology revealed a pancreatic head mass showing a biphasic tumor composed of seventy percent Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, and thirty percent High Grade Sarcoma with immunohistochemistry using Pancytokeratin, Vimentin, Desmin, S-100, Smooth Muscle Actin, CD34, and Ki-67.
Plan de negocio para la constitución de la pastelería Dulce Lu, distrito de Pachacámac (Lima-Perú) 2021
Authors:   , Flores Llaullipoma Cecilia Victoria , Gutierrez Vilchez Nelly Milagros , Sulca Chinchay Edith Carla , Vasquez Huanaco Ivonne Judith
Published: June 2022

Al pasar de los años, se crean las necesidades y sobre todo las tendencias para ocasiones especiales se utilicen tortas con diseño personalizados de acuerdo con la temática de cada evento u ocasión, en este sentido se elaboran los postres y cupcakes conforme a la necesidad de cada consumidor. La empresa Dulce Lu; es un emprendimiento que nace a raíz a la pandemia donde queremos ofrecer al consumidor un producto donde entrará a luchar en el mercado de pastelería con teniendo como plus la innovación, para ello elaboraremos una página web, donde se pueda colocar el valor nutricional de las tortas, asimismo por medio de un blog interactuaremos con los clientes para poder brindar tips, recetas para que también puedan elaborar postres en casa. En este proyecto se queremos identificar, comparar y evaluar aquellas opciones que para la mejora y sobre todo el desarrollo de la pequeña empresa, teniendo como factor clave la elaboración y/o producción de tortas en el distrito de Pachacamac. Según análisis dado dentro del presente plan de negocio, podemos concluir que este proyecto es viable, puesto que tenemos una buena rentabilidad que respaldan la viabilidad de este negocio y poner en marcha dentro del primer trimestre del año 2022.
Horizontally ridge reconstruction using titanium mesh with tenting screw vs autologous bone graft: a retrospective study
Authors: Zhou Lin , Xing Yifeng , Ding Jiamin , Lin Yanjun , Liu Chaowei , Chen Jiang , Wu Dong
Published: June 2022

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the horizontal bone gain at the different level of alveolar bone using titanium screw as a reference plane by titanium mesh with tent screw (exposed or not) and autologous bone grafting. 16 patients and 23 measured points were enrolled in this study. CBCT data of immediately and 6 months after bone grafting were measured at crestal (CW), midway (MW), and basal (BW) level and reconstructed for area measurement. The exposure of Ti-mesh or not had been evaluated. The area of bone gained and absorption ratio were almost the same. The width absorption ratio of titanium mesh and onlay grafting group or at CW, MW, and BW were almost the same. However, the width absorption ratio of the exposed Ti-mesh at CW, MW, and BW were significantly higher than the not exposed one. Thin biotype was a main factor of titanium mesh exposure. The exposed Ti-mesh at late phase also can achieve clinically accepted bone gained after certain anti-inflammatory treatment. Ti-mesh with tenting screw could achieve the same bone augmentation effect as the autogenous bone block did, even it is exposed at late phase. However, the absorption ratio significantly increased if exposed.
The southward movement preference of large-scale persistent extreme precipitation events over the Yangtze River Valley during Mei-yu period
Authors: Ma Jiao , Wei Ke , Chen Wen , Wang Ting
Published: June 2022

Among all rainfall events, heavy rainfall that affects large areas and persists for days can cause serious flooding, severe casualties, and substantial economic losses. In this study, we identify the extreme precipitation events that affect a large area and have persistence of more than three days (LPEPEs) in China during 1961–2013. The LPEPEs incline to occur in summer and over southern China, coinciding well with the rainy season in China. The movement of LPEPEs is dominated by the tendency to extend southward, especially for the LPEPEs during the Mei-yu period (LPEPEs-M). The dynamical composite analyses on the southward-moving LPEPEs-M show that the southward extension is generated by the combined effect of the large-scale circulation configuration and the diabatic heating caused by large-scale condensation. The latent heating results in a cyclonic anomaly from the middle to the lower levels. Therefore, westerly and easterly anomalies are produced to the south and north of the heating center, respectively. The two anomalies manipulate the vertical distribution of meridional winds which is dominated by the large-scale circulation to both sides of the rainband. This kind of anomaly configuration, together with the quasi east-west zonal distribution of diabatic heating, creates a pattern with positive and negative PV tendency to the south and north of the heating center, leading to LPEPE system development to the south of the precipitation center. Therefore, the LPEPE rainband has a preference to move southward over the Yangtze River Valley during the Mei-yu period. We also test the dynamical mechanism with a numerical sensitivity experiment using the WRF model. In the experiment without latent heating feedback, the Mei-yu rainband moves northward and extends to central and North China. While in the experiment with the latent heating feedback, the rainband intensifies and extends southward. The southward extension preferences of the LPEPE can provide an internal dynamical of the stagnation of East Asian summer evolution.
Towards cataloguing and appraising advance care planning and end-of-life care resources
Authors: Ramirez-Valdez Edric Aram , Leong Clare , Wu Frances , Ball Sarah , Maistrello Giulia , Martin Graham , Fritz Zoë
Published: June 2022

Background: Resources for healthcare professionals, patients and those important to them relating to planning and coordinating treatment and care at the end of life are abundant, and can be difficult to navigate. However, they have not been systematically collated or catalogued in terms of their purpose, scope or intended audience.Aim: To collate, categorise and appraise advance care planning and end-of-life treatment and care (EoLT+C) resources directed towards healthcare professionals, patients and their families.Methods: Rapid review and thematic synthesis of resources available in the United Kingdom. Google searches and reviews of websites belonging to selected organisations that develop and publish materials relating to EoLT+C, and advance care planning were used. Materials were included if they were intended for those over 18 living in the UK and pertained to five domains of EoLT+C: identifying those approaching end of life; accessing EoLT+C services; conducting important conversations about EoLT+C and preferences; advance care planning, including recording of preferences and plans; and ensuring that plans and preferences are accessed and used by health and social care services. Results: 246 resources directed at healthcare professionals, patients and their families were identified, collated, catalogued and made internationally available for clinicians, researchers, patients and the public. 61 were classified as interactive, providing decision support in EoLT+C that went beyond simply providing information. Of these, there was notable content overlap among tools for identifying patients in their last year of life. There was variation in the development of tools across all domains of end-of-life care by geography and patient group. Few interactive resources integrated seamlessly with a digital interface or healthcare provider workflows. Incentives for the adoption of best-practice appeared rare. Conclusions: We present a repeatable and scalable approach to the cataloguing and appraisal of palliative care resources. The identified resources will be of benefit not only to those in the UK but to those in other countries, developing or evaluating their own resources for aiding professionals and patients to plan and deliver excellent treatment and care at the end of life.
Convolutional Neural Network Based Modulation Classification over Multipath fading Channels
Authors: reddy varun kumar
Published: June 2022

The authors proposed a method to classify the required modulations among the various kinds of distributed systems by using the Convolutional neural network (CNN). A supervised Machine learning (ML) algorithm, Support vector machine (SVM) is used to classify the required modulation among all the modulations due to its advantages majorly low complexity. In this paper, the CNN and SVM are explained in simple terms with relevant mathematical analysis. For better understanding of the classification of modulated techniques, some analog modulation techniques such as Binary phase shift keying (BPSK), Quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 8-ary phase shift keying (8-PSK), 16-ary Quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM), 64-ary Quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM), 4-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), Gaussian frequency shift keying (GFSK), Continuous phase frequency shift keying (CPFSK) and digital modulations such as Broadcast FM (B-FM), Double sideband amplitude modulation (DSB-AM), Single sideband amplitude modulation (SSB-AM) are considered. The time domain and the spectrogram representation of different modulations are presented by transmitting signals over Rayleigh and Rician channels. The impact of the noise over these signals is also studied.
Phenobarbital is Associated with Cholestasis in low birth weight Infants with Hemo-dynamically Significant Patent Ductus Arteriosus
Authors: Shen Xintian , Huang Yie , Peng Haibo , Zhou Ping
Published: June 2022

Objectives: This retrospective cohort study aimed to assess whether phenobarbital was associated with cholestasis in low birth weight (LBW) infants with hemo-dynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA).Methods: This study included 148 LBW infants (24~34 weeks, birth weight<2000 g) diagnosed with hsPDA, admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from September 2016 to September 2019. Of the 148 infants, twenty infants were diagnosed with cholestasis. To assess the independent association with cholestasis or direct bilirubin, binary logistic or multivariable linear regression was done, adjusting for major confounders (birth weight, gestational age, critical risk index for babies, invasive mechanical ventilation, any sepsis onset in 28 days and etc). Result: Binary logistic regression analysis was done adjusting for 12 related confounders. After adjustment, the “delay of full enteral feeding” was still associated with “duration of phenobarbital” (DOP) (OR: 1.571; P = 0.015) or “duration of phenobarbital before cholestasis onset” (DOPBCO) (OR: 1.662; P = 0.014); Cholestasis was still associated with “DOP” (OR: 1.553; P = 0.005) or “DOPBCO” (OR: 1.353; P = 0.088); “High direct bilirubin summit” (>1.5 mg/dl) was still associated with “DOP” (OR: 1.686; P = 0.003) or “DOPBCO” (OR: 1.511; P = 0.021). Multivariate linear regression revealed that “persist time of cholestasis” was associated with “DOB” (B: 2.254; P = 0.050) after adjustment of “delay of full enteral feeding”.Conclusion: This study found that phenobarbital was associated with neonatal cholestasis in LBW infants with hsPDA. Phenobarbital should be used cautiously in this population.
Effect of frozen-thawed embryo transfer on metabolism of children in early childhood
Authors: Dong zehan , Wu Ting , Feng TieNan , Zhang Chen , Wang Yu , Liu Han , Qin NingXin , Wang YinYu , Xu JingJing , Li Hong , Yu Wen , Jin Li , Ding Yan , Lin XianHua , Chen Lei , Wang Li , Liu ZhiWei , Sheng JianZhong , Wu YanTing , Huang HeFeng
Published: June 2022

Background:
As a routine procedure in assisted reproductive technology (ART), it is crucial to assess the safety of frozen and thawed embryo transfer (FET). We aimed to investigate the metabolic profile of children conceived through FET between the ages of 1.5 and 4.
Method:
284 children between the ages of 1.5 and 4 years old, conceived through FET or spontaneously conceived, were recruited. A total of 147 children were included in the biochemical and metabolomics analysis (118 were born following FET and 29 were conceived spontaneously).
Results:
Children in the FET group had higher plasma ApoE and lower fasting insulin than those in the NC group. There were 11 small molecule metabolities that differed between the FET and NC groups: short chain fatty acid and secondary bile acid were higher in the FET group, whereas medium and long chain fatty acids were lower.
Conclusion:
We found that the fasting insulin level and HOMA-IR index which related to glycometabolism were decreased in FET group. Increased level of ApoE and decreased level of medium and long chain fatty acids in FET group indicated the abnormal lipid metabolism of children born after FET. Meanwhile, the increase of SCFAs (short chain fatty acids) level and secondary bile acids in FET group may suggeste the active metabolism of intestinal flora of children conceived from FET.
DSM: Deep Sequential Model for Complete Neuronal Morphology Representation and Feature Extraction
Authors: Peng Hanchuan , Xiong Feng , Xie Peng , Zhao Zuo-Han , Li Yiwei , Zhao Sujun , Liu Lijuan
Published: June 2022

Full morphology of single neurons is indispensable to understand cell types, the basic building blocks in brains. Projecting trajectories are critical to extract biologically relevant information from neuron morphologies, as they provide valuable information of both connectivity and cell identity. We developed an artificial intelligence method, Deep Sequential Model (DSM), to extract concise, cell-type defining features from projections across brain regions. DSM achieves more than 90% accuracy in classifying twelve major neuron projection types, without compromising performance when spatial noise is present. Such remarkable robustness enabled us to efficiently manage and analyze several major full-morphology data sources, showcasing how characteristic long projections can define cell identities. We also succeeded in applying our model to both discovering previously unknown neuron subtypes and analyzing exceptional co-expressed genes involved in neuron projection circuits.
50 years of the water-flow variance in Tucuruí reservoir related with Brazilian energy consumption
Authors: Godoy Bruno , Ishihara Junior , Aguiar Renan , Teixeira Otávio
Published: June 2022

Dammed rivers lose its natural characteristics of the flow cycle and becomes controlled by the energy demands of the hydroelectric plants. With the connection of the energy-producing plants to a central station in Brazil the situation is aggravated since demands in different regions of the country affect the water flow. Using downstream flow data from the Tucuruí dam over a 50-year period, we tested whether the variation in water flow has changed. We observed an increase of the annual variation of the water flow and the extreme events of flooding at downstream of the dam, indicating the operation of the dam intensified the control of water passage. The trend accelerated after 1997, year of the Tucuruí dam was interconnected to the Central System. Management strategies for the dam should be considered integrated with the national electricity demand, since distant demands may affect the local environment in question.
The Smc5/6 complex is a DNA loop extruding motor
Authors: Kim Eugene , Björkegren Camilla , Pradhan Biswajit , Kanno Takaharu , Igarashi Miki Umeda , Baaske Martin , Wong Jan Siu Kei , Jeppsson Kristian
Published: June 2022

Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) protein complexes are essential for the spatial organization of chromosomes. While cohesin and condensin organize chromosomes by extruding DNA loops, the molecular functions of the third eukaryotic SMC complex, Smc5/6, remain largely unknown. Using single-molecule imaging, we reveal that Smc5/6 forms DNA loops by extrusion. Upon ATP-hydrolysis, Smc5/6 symmetrically reels DNA into loops at a force-dependent rate of 1 kilobase pairs per second. Smc5/6 extrudes loops in the form of a dimer, while monomeric Smc5/6 unidirectionally translocate along DNA. We also find that Nse5 and Nse6 (Nse5/6) subunits act as negative regulators of Smc5/6-mediated loop initiation and stability. Our findings reveal Smc5/6’s molecular functions, and establish loop extrusion as a conserved mechanism among eukaryotic SMC complexes.
A hybrid AHP-PROMETHEEII group decision support procedure with decision-makers’ weights assignment: Application in spatial localization
Authors: Omari Youcef , Hamdadou Djamila , Mami Mohammed Amine
Published: June 2022

Organizations and companies are getting increasingly enormous, comprising a significant number of managers and associates from all over the world. This globalization increases the complexity of decisions made within firms, as many decision-makers are engaged, each with their own view of the situation, and a variety of variables impact those judgments. The latter problem is referred to as Multicriteria Group Decision making (MGDM). Decision-makers in MGDM may have varying levels of power within the group; to express this authority, a weight should be assigned to each of them. Due to the impact of these weight values, this process of attributing weights must be held with care. In this paper the authors propose a strategy based on the PROMETHEE II method to handle MGDM problems; in the latter procedure, decision makers' weights are given objectively based on their contribution to the process. The main idea is to employ PROMETHEE II at three different levels: individual rating, weights attribution, and group ranking. The approach was put to the test on a real-world case study in territorial planning. This approach should be enhanced to take into account fuzzy and linguistic numbers, and it should be extended to additional application areas.
Migrant and Native Women’s Perceptions of Prenatal Care Communication Quality: The Role of Host Country Language Proficiency
Authors: Hamwi Sousan , Lorthe Elsa , Severo Milton , Barros Henrique
Published: June 2022

Despite the potentially significant impact of women-prenatal care provider communication quality (WPCQ) on women’s perinatal health, evidence on the determinants of those perceptions is still lacking, particularly among migrant women. We aimed to examine the effect of women’s host-country language proficiency on their perceived WPCQ. We analyzed the data of 1210 migrant and 1400 native women who gave birth at Portuguese public hospitals between 2017 and 2019 and participated in the baMBINO cohort study. Migrants’ language proficiency was self-rated. Perceived WPCQ was measured as a composite score of 9 different aspects of self-reported communication quality and ranged from 0 (always optimal) to 27. A high percentage of women (29%) rated communication quality as “always optimal”. Zero-inflated logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the association between language proficiency and perceived WPCQ, and adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) and odds ratio (aOR) were reported. Women’s language proficiency did not influence whether women rated WPCQ as “always optimal” or “suboptimal.” However, it did have a significant effect on the magnitude of the WPCQ score for women with a suboptimal rating. Women with full (aIRR 1.35; 95% CI 1.22–1.50), intermediate (aIRR 1.41; 95% CI 1.23–1.61), and limited (aIRR 1.72; 95% CI 1.45–2.05) language proficiencies were increasingly more likely to have lower WPCQ when compared to natives. Facilitating communication with migrant women experiencing language barriers in prenatal care could provide an important contribution to improving prenatal care quality and addressing potential subsequent disparities in perinatal health outcomes.
Teloxantron inhibits the processivity of telomerase with preferential DNA damage on telomeres
Authors: Maciejewska Natalia , Olszewski Mateusz , Jurasz Jakub , Baginski Maciej , Folini Marco , Zaffaroni Nadia
Published: June 2022

Telomerase reactivation is one of the hallmarks of cancer, which plays an important role in cellular immortalization and the development and progression of tumor. Chemical telomerase inhibitors have been shown to trigger replicative senescence and apoptotic cell death both in vitro and in vivo. Due to its upregulation in various cancers, telomerase is considered as a potential target in cancer therapy. In this study, we identified potent, small-molecule telomerase inhibitors using telomerase repeat amplification protocol assay. The results of the assay are the first evidence of telomerase inhibition by anthraquinone derivatives that do not exhibit G-quadruplex-stabilizing properties. The stability of telomerase in the presence of its inhibitor was evaluated under nearly physiological conditions using cellular thermal shift assay. Together with the compound-induced aggregation, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) was translocated from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, which suggested compound-mediated inhibition making the enzyme accessible to its natural substrate. Molecular studies confirmed the binding of hit compound with the active site of hTERT. The ability of new derivatives to activate DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) was determined by high-resolution microscopy and flow cytometry in tumor cell lines differing in telomere elongation mechanism. The compounds triggered DSBs in TERT-positive A549 and H460 cell lines, but not in TERT-negative HUVEC and ALT-positive U2OS cell lines, which indicates that the induction of DSBs was dependent on telomerase inhibition. The observed DNA damages activated DNA damage response pathways involving ATM/Chk2 and ATR/Chk1 cascades. Additionally, the compounds induced apoptotic cell death through extrinsic and intrinsic pathways in nonsmall cell lung cancer cells. Taken together, our study demonstrated that anthraquinone derivatives can be further developed into novel telomerase-related anticancer agents.
Sequence variants affect the genome-wide rate of germline microsatellite mutations
Authors: Kristmundsdottir Snaedis , Jónsson Hákon , Hardarson Marteinn , Pálsson Gunnar , Beyter Doruk , Eggertsson Hannes , Gylfason Arnaldur , Sveinbjornsson Garðar , Holley Guillaume , Stefansson Olafur , Olafsson Sigurgeir , Arnadottir Gudny , Olason Pall , Eiriksson Ogmundur , Masson Gisli , Thorsteinsdottir Unnur , Rafnar Thorunn , Sulem Patrick , Helgason Agnar , Gudbjartsson Daniel , Halldorsson Bjarni , Stefansson Kari
Published: June 2022

Microsatellites are polymorphic tracts of short tandem repeats (STRs) with one to six base-pair (bp) motifs and are some of the most polymorphic markers in the genome. Using 6,084 Icelandic parent-offspring trios we estimate 63.7 (95% CI: 61.9–65.4) microsatellite de novo mutations (mDNMs) per offspring per generation. Paternal mDNMs occur at longer repeats, while maternal mDNMs affect more bp. mDNMs increase by 0.97 (95% CI: 0.90–1.04) and 0.31 (95% CI: 0.25–0.37) per year of father‘s and mother‘s age at conception, respectively. We found two independent coding variants associated with an increased number of mDNMs transmitted to offspring; A missense variant (allele frequency (AF) = 1.9%) in MSH2, a mismatch repair gene, increases transmitted mDNMs from both parents (effect: 13.1 paternal and 7.8 maternal mDNMs). A synonymous variant (AF = 20.3%) in NEIL2, a DNA damage repair gene, increases paternally transmitted mDNMs (effect: 4.4 mDNMs). Thus, the microsatellite mutation rate in humans is in part under genetic control.
Depositional morphotypes and characterization of silica diagenesis in Ypresian-Priabonian gypsiferous carbonates, Gafsa, Southern Tunisia
Authors: Henchiri Mohsen , Zammali Rim , Abid Khawla , Zidi Mohamed Khalil , Ahmed Walid Ben
Published: June 2022

Silica diagenetic features have been recognized in the Ypresian – Priabonian gypsiferous carbonates of Kef Edour Member in Gafsa basin, southern Tunisia. These rocks host a broad range of nodular features including anhydrite / gypsum, nodules and silica geodes. Three types of silica geodes have been recognized based on colour, form, chemical and mineralogical composition. A zoned texture characterizes most of geodes, with (1) a rim, 3­4 cm thick, composed of mixed microquartz and (2) length-slow chalcedony and (3) euhedral Megaquartz lining the inner cavity of the nodule. XRD analysis reveals that the quartz is the only silica phase present in most samples. The other silica forms (opaline group = opal-A, opal-C, opal-CT) are undetectable with XRD. FTIR and 29Si MAS NMR analyses confirm the presence of diagenetic hydroxylated silica forms (silanol sites with two bridging oxygen sites Q2 (–(O)2Si(OH)2) interpreted as amorphous opaline precursors of the quartz. Other non-siliceous groups have been detected, such as SO4 (sulphate evaporites) CO3 (calcium and magnesium carbonates), and confirmed by petrographic observations. In Mg-rich and gypsiferous host sediments, silica diagenesis tends to proceed discontinuously. During early silicification, pore fluid chemistry (pH < 9) tolerates silica replacements and the development of the microcrystalline and fibrous form of quartz, whereas this silica replacement is slowed down or curtailed later in the innermost parts of anhydrite nodules due pore fluid chemistry (pH values > 9) allowing the development of euhedral silica form by force of crystallization supported by its crystallinity degree and its low specific surface area and ultramicroporosity that make it the most mineralogically competent and the most chemically resistant in such environments. Silica supply could be derived ultimately from (1) minor volcanogenic/hydrothermal venting contributions during early diagenetic stages, and (2) diagenesis of the extraformational and overlying detrital quartz and clay-rich sediments.
Caloric and Time Restriction Diets Improve Acute Kidney Injury in Experimental Menopausal Rats: Role of SIRT1 and TGF-β1
Authors: Mahani Fatemeh Darvishzadeh , Khaksari Mohammad , Mousavi Maryam Sadat , Bashiri Hamideh , Raji-Amirhasani Alireza , Hajializadeh Zahra , Alavi Samaneh Sadat
Published: June 2022

BackgroundEstrogen has a protective effect on acute kidney injury (AKI). In addition, reducing daily calorie intake prevents disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of calorie restriction (CR) and time restriction (TR) diets on the expression of SIRT1, TGF-β1 and other indicators in the presence or absence of Ovaries in female rats with AKI.MethodsFemale rats were divided into two groups of resected ovaries (OVX) and sham and were subjected to CR and TR diets for eight weeks. AKI was then induced by glycerol injection and renal injury indices and biochemical parameters were measured before and after AKI.ResultsAfter AKI, the levels of urine albumin excretion rate, urea, and creatinine in serum, and TGF-β1 increased, while GFR and SIRT1 decreased in kidney tissue. CR improved kidney indicators and caused a reduction in TGF-β1 and an increase in SIRT1 in ovary-intact rats. Moreover, CR prevented TAC decrease and MDA increase resulting from AKI. Before AKI, an increase in body weight, fasting blood sugar (FBS), LDL, TG, and TC and a decrease in HDL were observed in OVX rats compared to sham rats, but CR prevented these changes. The effects of TR were similar to those of CR in all indicators except for TGF-β1, SIRT1, urea, creatinine, and albumin. ConclusionThis study showed that CR diet is more effective than TR diet in preventing AKI by increasing SIRT1 and reducing TGF-β1 in ovary-intact animals.
The nonlinear impact of R&D investment on green technological progress in China’s manufacturing industry: Based on the law of diminishing marginal returns
Authors: Zhang Xi , Li Rui , Zhang Jinglei
Published: June 2022

Green technological progress is an important prerequisite for the sustainable development of the manufacturing industry, which is usually closely related to R&D investment activities. This paper explores the nonlinear relationship between R&D investment and green technological progress based on panel threshold regression model using panel data of 26 manufacturing industries in China from 2004 to 2017. The results show that the double-threshold model can better explain the nonlinear relationship between the two, and the R&D investment in the three ranges of low, medium and high levels can significantly promote green technological progress in manufacturing industry. However, with the improvement of R&D investment level, the promotion effect of R&D investment on the progress of manufacturing green technology is decreasing, which explains the low R&D intensity of China's manufacturing industry to a certain extent. When the level of R&D investment reaches a certain level, its promoting effect on green technological progress will be greatly reduced, and the motivation of enterprises to invest in R&D based on self-interest will decrease, so that the scale of R&D investment will be lower than the optimal scale of society. R&D investment can also improve green technical efficiency change. In addition, environmental regulation can promote green technological progress in manufacturing industry. However, due to the implementation of output-oriented environmental regulation policies, China’s environmental regulation can inhibit the improvement of green technical efficiency change. Based on the conclusion, this paper argues that China should implement differentiated R&D subsidy policies for manufacturing enterprises, especially to increase R&D subsidies for enterprises with a medium level of R&D investment, and formulate appropriate environmental regulatory policies, so as to promote green and low-carbon transformation of China's manufacturing sector.
The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in a high HIV/TB burden district level hospital setting
Authors: Mnguni Ayanda Trevor , Schietekat Denzil , Ebrahim Nabilah , Sonday Nawhaal , Boliter Nicholas , Schrueder Neshaad , Gabriels Shiraaz , Sigwadhi Lovemore N. , Zemlin Annalise E. , Chapanduka Zivanai C. , Ngah Vera , Yalew Anteneh , Jalavu Thumeka , Abdullah Ibtisam , Tamuzi Jacques L. , London Leslie , Naledi Tracey , Tembo Yamanya , Davies Mary-Ann , Nyasulu Peter S. , English Rene
Published: June 2022

Background:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to evolve. Globally, COVID-19 continues to strain even the most resilient healthcare systems, with Omicron being the latest variant. We made a thorough search for literature describing the effects of the COVID-19 in a high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/tuberculosis (TB) burden district-level hospital setting. We found scanty literature.
Methods:
A retrospective observational study was conducted at Khayelitsha District Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa (SA) over the period March 2020 – December 2021. We included confirmed COVID-19 cases with HIV infection aged from 18 years and above. Analysis was performed to identify predictors of mortality or hospital discharge among people living with HIV (PLWH). Predictors investigated include CD4 count, antiretroviral therapy (ART), TB, non-communicable diseases, haematological, and biochemical parameters.
Findings:
This cohort of PLWH with SARS-CoV-2 infection had a median (IQR) age of 46 (37–54) years, male sex distribution of 29.1%, and a median (IQR) CD4 count of 267 (141–457) cells/mm3. Of 255 patients, 195 (76%) patients were discharged, 60 (24%) patients died. One hundred and sixty-nine patients (88%) were on ART with 73(28%) patients having acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). After multivariate analysis, smoking (risk ratio [RR]: 2.86 (1.75–4.69)), neutrophilia [RR]: 1.024 (1.01–1.03), and glycated haemoglobin A1 (HbA1c) [RR]: 1.01 (1.007–1.01) were associated with mortality.
Conclusion:
The district hospital had a high COVID-19 mortality rate among PLWH. Easy-to-access biomarkers such as CRP, neutrophilia, and HbA1c may play a significant role in informing clinical management to prevent high mortality due to COVID-19 in PLWH at the district-level hospitals.