bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maintaining tree biodiversity in urban communities on the university campus
Authors: SUSILOWATI ARIDA , RANGKUTI AHMAD BAIQUNI , RACHMAT HENTI HENDALASTUTI , ISWANTO APRI HERI , HARAHAP MOEHAR MARAGHIY , ELFIATI DENI , SLAMET BEJO , GINTING IDA MALLIA
Published: May 2021

Abstract. Susilowati A, Rangkuti AB, Rachmat HH, Iswanto AH, Harahap MM, Elfiati D, Slamet B, Ginting IM. 2021. Maintaining tree biodiversity in urban communities on the university campus. Biodiversitas 22: 2839-2847. Many universities worldwide have green spaces (GS) as an integral part of their campuses because of significant benefits for ecological function and urban communities. University of Sumatera Utara (USU) campus is located in urban area of Medan city, Indonesia, with a total area of 120 hectares. The campus offers various outdoor spaces for resting, sports, playgrounds and other psychological benefits. The campus also offers vital benefits for its surrounding environment, such as improving air quality and ensuring pleasant climatic conditions and biodiversity. One of the important functions of USU GS is to become an area for preserving tree diversity in urban communities, which in busy urban communities is sometimes a little overlooked. This research aimed to identify the species diversity, abundance, utilization, and conservation status of trees across 120 hectares of USU Campus using the field inventory method. Results revealed a total of 7333 individual trees of 121 species from 37 families. The most common tree species is Swietenia macrophylla (18.37%), while the dominant families are Fabaceae. Margalef index and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index reaching 13.48 (good) and 3.41 (high). Based on the utilization status, 55.43% of the tree species were wood producers, 45.34% were pollutant absorbers, while the lowest percentage functioned as latex producers (0.12%). About 70 species (57.85%) were native species, while 51 species (42.15%) were exotic. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 50 species (41.33% %) were listed as the least concern status, 8 species (6.61%) with a vulnerable status, 4 species (3.30%) with a near-threatened status and 2 species (1.66%) with and endangered status. The result from this study also showed that GS at USU not only performed its main function as a shade or an oxygen producer (environment services) but also maintained the tree biodiversity and a means of ex-situ conservation for many trees species. Trees threatened by anthropogenic activities, particularly tree felling for infrastructural developments were still found in the campus area. Therefore, sustainable conservation efforts should be geared towards ensuring the continued existence of the trees to maintain their ecological functions
Distribution and prevalence of scurf (Monilochaetes infuscans) on sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) in West Java, Indonesia
Authors: Dewayani Sitaresmi , Maulana Haris , Wicaksana Noladhi , Suganda Tarkus , Concibido Vergel , Karuniawan Agung
Published: May 2021

Abstract. Dewayani, Maulana H, Wicaksana N, Suganda T, Concibido V, Karuniawan A. 2021. Distribution and prevalence of scurf (Monilochaetes infuscans) on sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) in West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 2876-2883. Scurf (Monilochaetes infuscans) is a common sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) tuber skin discoloration disease, that can cause significant yield loss, especially when tubers are destined for the export market. Despite the economic importance of the disease in West Java, Indonesia, there is a dearth of information on the distribution and severity of scurf disease. To address this gap, a disease survey was carried out across 28 fields in six districts (Bandung, Sumedang, Garut, Kuningan, Cianjur, and Bogor) of West Java from 2016 to 2018. Scurf disease prevalence was recorded by counting the number of infected tubers from 15 plant samples per field. Disease incidence was recorded when at least one infected tuber per plant was observed. Severity of scurf diseases was estimated by measuring the percentage of infected surface area, using AutoCAD map 2019. Results show that scurf was distributed across all locations surveyed. Disease incidence ranged from 1.68% (Cikadu) to 27.56% (Cilembu) while disease severity ranged from 7.92% (Cikadu) to 57.00% (Cilembu). Based on potato dextrose agar (PDA) culture plates, 68.57 % of tubers were infected with various fungi. Among them, M. infuscans (32.14 %) was the most prevalent and most widely distributed pathogen associated with the scurf disease across sweet potato fields in West Java, Indonesia. To effectively manage the disease and improve farmers’ income, it is imperative to establish effective and sound integrated disease mitigation strategies based on the results of this survey.
Application of inter-SINE amplified polymorphism (ISAP) markers for genotyping of Cucumis melo accessions and its transferability in Coleus spp
Authors: Sormin Siti Yuli Meilanda , Purwantoro Aziz , Setiawan Agus Budi , Teo Chee How
Published: May 2021

Abstract. Sormin SYM, Purwantoro A, Setiawan AB, Teo CH. 2021. Application of inter-SINE amplified polymorphism (ISAP) markers for genotyping of Cucumis melo accessions and its transferability in Coleus spp. Biodiversitas 22: 2918-2929. An unambiguous characterization of melon (Cucumis melo L.) accessions based on their morphological traits is often laborious and affected by environment when compared with molecular marker genotyping. Short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) are highly abundant non-autonomous and non-coding retrotransposons that are widely scattered over all chromosomes of eukaryotes. They can serve as a good molecular marker for routine genotyping in plant breeding and marker-assisted selection. This study aimed to apply inter-SINE amplified polymorphism (ISAP) markers for genotyping of Cucumis melo accessions and its transferability in Coleus spp. Twenty-one C. melo accessions, one C. metuliferus E. Mey. ex Naudin, and 15 accessions of Coleus spp. were used for ISAP marker development. A copy of cucumber-specific long interspersed nuclear element (LINE) and multiple copies of melon-specific SINE were identified and isolated. ISAP primers were designed from the highly conserved region of the SINEs and LINE. The melon and cucumber-specific ISAP markers showed a higher degree of polymorphism (87.5%-100%) than potato ISAP markers (60%-100%) in all the tested melon accessions. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) dendrogram generated from polymorphic ISAP bands clearly distinguish the Cucumis melo accessions from their distantly related wild species C. metuliferus. The transferable nature of Cucumis ISAP marker system was demonstrated in Coleus species, where the marker differentiates the tested accessions.
Amphibian and reptile diversity of Peleng Island, Banggai Kepulauan, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Authors: RIYANTO AWAL , RAHMADI CAHYO
Published: May 2021

Abstract. Riyanto A, Rahmadi C. 2021. Amphibian and reptile diversity of Peleng Island, Banggai Kepulauan, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 2930-2939. Indonesia is an archipelagic country and is known as one of the world’s megadiverse countries and has three zoogeographic zones. Therefore, proper conservation efforts to face extinction threats are very important, and the fundamental steps to better understanding it’s biodiversity provide valuable baseline information. Amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) are main biodiversity components that experience extinction threats but, at the same time, provide an important role in ecosystems and community life. This paper is the first to provide a checklist of the herpetofauna of Peleng Island, Banggai Kepulauan, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Data was gathered by field surveys and supplemented by references. Visual Encounter Surveys (VES) were undertaken in 8 sites. A total of 34 species are listed herein, 29 (85%) of them revealed from this fieldwork, and 21 (62%) new for the island. At least two candidate new species of the genus Cyrtodactylus were confirmed by molecular data and one frog of the genus Kaloula also suspected new species.
Accurate and practical feature extraction from noisy holograms
Authors: Rawat Siddharth , Wang Anna
Published: May 2021

Quantitative phase imaging using holographic microscopy is a powerful and non-invasive imaging method, ideal for studying cells and quantifying their features such as size, thickness, and dry mass. However, biological materials scatter little light, and the resulting low signal-to-noise ratio in holograms complicates any downstream feature extraction and hence applications. More specifically, unwrapping phase maps from noisy holograms often fails or requires extensive computational resources. We present a strategy for overcoming the noise limitation: rather than a traditional phase-unwrapping method, we extract the continuous phase values from holograms by using a phase-generation technique based on conditional generative adversarial networks employing a Pix2Pix architecture. We demonstrate that a network trained on random surfaces can accurately generate phase maps for test objects such as dumbbells, spheres, and biconcave discoids. Furthermore, we show that even a rapidly trained network can generate faithful phase maps when trained on related objects. We are able to accurately extract both morphological and quantitative features from the noisy phase maps of human leukemia (HL-60) cells, where traditional phase unwrapping algorithms fail. We conclude that deep learning can decouple noise from signal, expanding potential applications to real-world systems that may be noisy.
Non-contact terahertz spectroscopic measurement of the intraocular pressure through corneal hydration mapping
Authors: Chen Andrew , Virk Arjun , Harris Zachery , Abazari Azin , Honkanen Robert , Arbab M. Hassan
Published: May 2021

Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) results in endothelial layer damage that can induce corneal hydration perturbations. We investigated the potential of terahertz spectroscopy in measuring the IOP levels through mapping corneal water content. We controlled the IOP levels inex vivorabbit and porcine eye samples while monitoring the change in corneal hydration using a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) scanner. Our results showed a statistically significant increase in the THz reflectivity between 0.4 and 0.6 THz corresponding to the increase in the IOP. Endothelial layer damage was confirmed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the corneal biopsy samples. Our empirical results indicate that the THz-TDS can be used to track IOP levels through the changes in corneal hydration.
Three-wavelength broadband soot pyrometry technique for axisymmetric flames
Authors: Cruz Juan José , Escudero Felipe , Álvarez Emilio , Figueira da Silva Luís Fernando , Carvajal Gonzalo , Thomsen María , Fuentes Andrés
Published: May 2021

Soot temperature measurements in laminar flames are often performed through two-color broadband emission pyrometry (BEMI) or modulated absorption/emission (BMAE) techniques, using models to relate the ratio between flame intensities at two different wavelengths with soot temperature. To benefit from wider spectral range and increase the accuracy of experimental estimation of soot temperature, this work proposes a new approach that uses three-color broadband images captured with a basic color camera. The methodology is first validated through simulations using numerically generated flames from the CoFlame code and then used to retrieve soot temperature in an experimental campaign. The experimental results show that using three-color and BEMI provides smoother reconstruction of soot temperature than two-color and BMAE when small disturbances exist in the measured signals due to a reduced experimental noise effect. A sensitivity analysis shows that the retrieved temperature from three-color BEMI is more resilient to variations on the ratio of measured signals than BMAE, which is confirmed by an error propagation analysis based on a Monte Carlo approach.
High contrast cleavage detection
Authors: Dubrovsky Michael , Blevins Morgan , Boriskina Svetlana V. , Vermeulen Diedrik
Published: May 2021

Photonic biosensors that use optical resonances to amplify signals from refractive index changes offer high sensitivity, real-time readout, and scalable, low-cost fabrication. However, when used with classic affinity assays, they struggle with noise from nonspecific binding and are limited by the low refractive index and small size of target biological molecules. In this Letter, we evaluate the performance of an integrated microring photonic biosensor using the high contrast cleavage detection (HCCD) mechanism, which we recently introduced. The HCCD sensors make use of dramatic optical signal amplification caused by the cleavage of large numbers of high-contrast nanoparticle reporters instead of the adsorption of labeled or unlabeled low-index biological molecules. We evaluate the advantages of the HCCD detection mechanism over conventional target-capture detection techniques with the same label and the same sensor platform, using an example of a silicon ring resonator as an optical transducer decorated with silicon nanoparticles as high-contrast reporters. In the practical realization of this detection scheme, detection specificity and signal amplification can be achieved via collateral nucleic acid cleavage caused by enzymes such as CRISPR Cas12a and Cas13 after binding to a target DNA/RNA sequence in solution.
Measuring quality of family planning counselling and its effects on uptake of contraceptives in public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Dey Arnab K. , Averbach Sarah , Dixit Anvita , Chakraverty Amit , Dehingia Nabamallika , Chandurkar Dharmendra , Singh Kultar , Choudhry Vikas , Silverman Jay G. , Raj Anita
Published: May 2021

Background

Quality of care in family planning traditionally focuses on promoting awareness of the broad array of contraceptive options rather than on the quality of interpersonal communication offered by family planning (FP) providers. There is a growing emphasis on person-centered contraceptive counselling, care that is respectful and focuses on meeting the reproductive needs of a couple, rather than fertility regulation. Despite the increasing global focus on person-centered care, little is known about the quality of FP care provided in low- and middle- income countries like India.

This study involves the development and psychometric testing of a Quality of Family Planning Counselling (QFPC) measure, and assessment of its associations with contraceptives selected by clients subsequently.

Methods

We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from N = 237 women following their FP counselling in 120 public health facilities (District Hospitals and Community Health Centers) sampled across the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The study captured QFPC, contraceptives selected by clients post-counselling, as well as client and provider characteristics. Based on formative research and using Principal Component Analysis, we developed a 13-item measure of quality of FP counselling. We used adjusted regression models to assess the association between QFPC and contraceptive selected post-counselling.

Results

The QFPC measure demonstrated good internal reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.80) as well as criterion validity, as indicated by client reports of high QFPC being significantly more likely for clients with trained versus untrained counsellors. We found that each point increase in QFPC, including increasing quality of counselling, is associated with higher odds of clients selecting an intrauterine device (IUD) (aRR:1.03; 95% CI:1.01–1.05) and sterilization (aRR:1.06; 95% CI:1.03–1.08), compared to no method selected.

Conclusions

High-quality FP counselling is associated with clients subsequently selecting more effective contraceptives, including IUD and sterilization, in India. High-quality counselling is also more likely among FP-trained providers, highlighting the need for focused training and monitoring of quality care.

Trial registration

CTRI/2015/09/006219. Registered 28 September 2015
Reaching underserved South Africans with integrated chronic disease screening and mobile HIV counselling and testing: A retrospective, longitudinal study conducted in Cape Town
Authors: Smith Philip John , Davey Dvora Joseph , Green Hunter , Cornell Morna , Bekker Linda-Gail
Published: May 2021

Background

Community-based, mobile HIV counselling and testing (HCT) and screening for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) may improve early diagnosis and referral for care in underserved populations. We evaluated HCT/NCD data and described population characteristics of those visiting a mobile clinic in high HIV disease burden settings in Cape Town, South Africa, between 2008 and 2016.

Methods

Trained counsellors registered patients ≥12 years old at a mobile clinic, which offered HCT and blood pressure, diabetes (glucose testing) and obesity (body mass index) screening. A nurse referred patients who required HIV treatment or NCD care. Using multivariable logistic regression, we estimated correlates of new HIV diagnoses adjusting for gender, age and year.

Results

Overall, 43,938 individuals (50% male; 29% <25 years; median age = 31 years) tested for HIV at the mobile clinic, where 27% of patients (66% of males, 34% of females) reported being debut HIV testers. Males not previously tested for HIV had higher rates of HIV positivity (11%) than females (7%). Over half (55%, n = 1,343) of those previously diagnosed HIV-positive had not initiated ART. More than one-quarter (26%) of patients screened positive for hypertension (males 28%, females 24%, p<0.001). Females were more likely overweight (25% vs 20%) or obese (43% vs 9%) and presented with more diabetes symptoms than males (8% vs 4%). Females (3%) reported more symptoms of STIs than males (1%). Reporting symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (aOR = 3.45, 95% CI = 2.84, 4.20), diabetes symptoms (aOR = 1.61, 95% 1.35, 1.92), and TB symptoms (aOR = 4.40, 95% CI = 3.85, 5.01) were associated with higher odds of a new HIV diagnosis after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusion

Findings demonstrate that mobile clinics providing integrated HCT and NCD screening may offer the opportunity of early diagnosis and referral for care for those who delay screening, including men living with HIV not previously tested.
Chinese consumers’ willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine and willingness to pay for it
Authors: Qin Wen , Wang Erpeng , Ni Zhengyu
Published: May 2021

A COVID-19 vaccine is the key to beating the virus, and effective vaccines are going to be available in the near future. It is urgent to estimate the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines and their value to individuals, in order to develop an effective public vaccination strategy. Based on a survey of 1,188 randomly selected respondents in China, we analyzed Chinese consumers’ willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine and their willingness to pay for it. We find that 79.41% of the respondents are willing to get vaccinated in China, and the average amount that they’re willing to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine shot is 130.45 yuan. However, though the elderly are at higher risk of infection and the disease could be fatal for them, they are less willing to get the vaccine and not willing to pay as much for the shot. Subsidies and health communication concerning COVID-19 vaccines should be provided in order to expand vaccination coverage.
Influence of the femoral offset on the muscles passive resistance in total hip arthroplasty
Authors: Burzyński Stanisław , Sabik Agnieszka , Witkowski Wojciech , Łuczkiewicz Piotr
Published: May 2021

Background

Soft tissue tension is treated as a crucial factor influencing the post-THA dislocation. The femoral offset is regarded as one of the major parameters responsible for the stabilization of the prosthesis. It is unclear which soft tissue is mostly affected by the offset changes.

Methods

A finite element model of the hip was created. The model comprised muscles, bones, a stem, the acetabular component and a liner. The muscles were modelled as a Hill-type musculo-tendon nonlinear springs. Nonlinear analyses of the hip flexion and internal rotation were performed for the two values of the femoral stem offset.

Results

We observed that the quadratus femoris and gluteus medius produce the largest resisting moment opposing the external load excreted by the surgeon during the intraoperative hip dislocation test.

Conclusions

An increased femoral offset increases the stretching of the quadratus femoris muscle significantly and provides the growth of its initial passive force. This muscle serves as a stiff band, providing stabilisation of the hip prosthesis, measured during the simulated intraoperative test.
Comparative analysis of profitability and resource use efficiency between Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei in India
Authors: Nisar Ubair , Zhang Hongzhi , Navghan Mahida , Zhu Yugui , Mu Yongtong
Published: May 2021

The study aimed to highlight the profitability and production function analysis of Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei in intensified shrimp farms in Gujarat (India). Two hundred and twenty (220) shrimp farm households were used to identify (principal component and cluster analyses) 8 clusters of management practices that reflected various scales of production intensity ranging from 0–2999 kg/ha/crop to 9000kg/ha/crop and above for both the species. The Cobb-Douglas production function, which relates production output to several independent input variables, was used to determine productivity. The budgeting analysis for both the species showed that more intensively managed farms performed more than the less intensive farm. Empirical results show feed as most significant input for Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei seed and labor that affected production. Average net returns/ha/year for Penaeus monodon was $16313.13 and for Litopenaeus vannamei $41640.99. Aquaculture exhibited decreasing returns to scale for both the species and estimates on resource use efficiency revealed that in Penaeus monodon the resources were economically utilized and in case of Litopenaeus vannamei the output was likely to increase if more of seed and less of labor would have been used. The major constraint for the shrimp farmers was diseases which can be mitigated by optimum stocking densities and proper feed management.
Increased risk of respiratory viral infections in elite athletes: A controlled study
Authors: Valtonen Maarit , Grönroos Wilma , Luoto Raakel , Waris Matti , Uhari Matti , Heinonen Olli J. , Ruuskanen Olli
Published: May 2021

Background

Respiratory symptoms are commonly recognised in elite athletes. The occurrence, etiology and clinical presentation of the illnesses in athletes is unclear.

Methods

We performed a prospective controlled study of respiratory viral infections in Team Finland during Nordic World Ski Championships 2019. There were 26 athletes and 36 staff members. Nasal swabs were taken at the onset of a symptom and on days 1, 7, and 13 during the follow-up of 14 days. Respiratory viruses were searched for by 3 different molecular multiplex tests. Fifty-two matched control subjects were studied in Finland during the same period.

Results

Ten out of 26 (38%) athletes, 6 out of 36 (17%) staff, and 3 out of 52 (6%) control subjects experienced symptoms of respiratory infection (p = 0.0013). The relative risks for acquiring symptomatic infection were 6.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1–21.0) of athletes and 2.9 (95% CI, 0.84–10.0) of the staff as compared to the controls. Asymptomatic infections were identified in 8%, 22%, and 19%, respectively (p = 0.30). The etiology of respiratory infections was detected in 84% of the cases.

Conclusion

The athletes had a 7-fold increase in the risk of illness compared to normally exercising control subjects.
Current status (as of end of 2020) of marine alien species in Turkey
Authors: Çinar Melih Ertan , Bilecenoğlu Murat , Yokeş M. Baki , Öztürk Bilal , Taşkin Ergün , Bakir Kerem , Doğan Alper , Açik Şermin
Published: May 2021

The 2020’s update of marine alien species list from Turkey yielded a total of 539 species belonging to 18 taxonomic groups, 404 of which have become established in the region and 135 species are casual. A total of 185 new alien species have been added to the list since the previous update of 2011. The present compilation includes reports of an ascidian species (Rhodosoma turcicum) new to the marine fauna of Turkey and range extensions of six species. Among the established species, 105 species have invasive characters at least in one zoogeographic region, comprising 19% of all alien species. Mollusca ranked first in terms of the number of species (123 species), followed by Foraminifera (91 species), Pisces (80 species) and Arthropoda (79 species). The number of alien species found in seas surrounding Turkey ranged from 28 (Black Sea) to 413 (Levantine Sea). The vectoral importance of the Suez Canal diminishes when moving from south to north, accounting for 72% of species introductions in the Levantine Seavs. only 11% of species introductions in the Black Sea. Most alien species on the coasts of Turkey were originated from the Red Sea (58%), due to the proximity of the country to the Suez Canal. Shipping activities transported 39% of alien species, mainly from the Indo-Pacific area (20%) and the Atlantic Ocean (10%). Misidentified species (such asPterois volitans,Trachurus declivis, etc.) and species those classified as questionable or cryptogenic were omitted from the list based on new data gathered in the last decade and expert judgements. The documented impacts of invasive species on socio-economy, biodiversity and human health in the last decade as well as the legislation and management backgrounds against alien species in Turkey are presented.
Evaluations of psychosocial cancer support services: A scoping review
Authors: Lingens Solveigh P. , Schulz Holger , Bleich Christiane
Published: May 2021

Background

A diagnosis of cancer leaves most patients with cancer and their relatives with an increased psychological burden. Throughout the course of the illness, social, occupational or legal changes may lead to psychological distress. Psychosocial cancer support services offer psychological, social and legal support. However, little is known about the effectiveness of psychosocial support services implemented in health care. Therefore, this scoping review aims to provide an overview of current literature evaluating out-patient psychosocial support services.

Methods

Databases searched were PubMed, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, PsycArticle, Medline, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane, and Embase. Two independent researchers conducted the systematic search. We included studies that were published in English and assessed at least one patient reported outcome measure. Studies that assessed psychotherapy, online support or telephone counselling were excluded. The review was reported according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A search of the databases identified 2104 articles. After excluding duplicates, screening titles, abstracts and full-texts, 12 studies matching the criteria were identified.

Results

One study was an RCT, six were prospective with no control group and five studies were cross-sectional with one measurement point. The most common outcome measures across studies were well-being, concerns and satisfaction with the support services.

Conclusion

While the included studies indicate some improvements to well-being for patients with cancer, the low number and lack of high quality of studies indicate these findings should be interpreted with caution. However, high-quality research on the effectiveness of psychosocial support services is needed to determine that the interventions are effective.
Sex differences in the longitudinal relationship of low-grade inflammation and echocardiographic measures in the Hoorn and FLEMENGHO Study
Authors: Remmelzwaal Sharon , Beulens Joline W. J. , Elders Petra J. M. , Stehouwer Coen D. A. , Zhang Zhenyu , Handoko M. Louis , Appelman Yolande , van Empel Vanessa , Heymans Stephane R. B. , Thijs Lutgarde , Staessen Jan A. , van Ballegooijen A. Johanne
Published: May 2021

Background

This study aimed to determine the within-person and between-persons associations of low-grade inflammation (LGI) and endothelial dysfunction (ED) with echocardiographic measures related to diastolic dysfunction (DD) in two general populations and whether these associations differed by sex.

Methods

Biomarkers and echocardiographic measures were measured at both baseline and follow-up in the Hoorn Study (n = 383) and FLEMENGHO (n = 491). Individual biomarker levels were combined into either a Z-score of LGI (CRP, SAA, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and sICAM-1) or ED (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, sE-selectin and sTM). Mixed models were used to determine within-person and between-persons associations of biomarker Z-scores with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and left atrial volume index (LAVI). These associations were adjusted for a-priori selected confounders.

Results

Overall Z-scores for LGI or ED were not associated with echocardiographic measures. Effect modification by sex was apparent for ED with LVEF in both cohorts (P-for interaction = 0.08 and 0.06), but stratified results were not consistent. Effect modification by sex was apparent for TNF-α in the Hoorn Study and E-selectin in FLEMENGHO with LVEF (P-for interaction≤0.05). In the Hoorn Study, women whose TNF-α levels increased with 1-SD over time had a decrease in LVEF of 2.2 (-4.5;0.01) %. In FLEMENGHO, men whose E-selectin levels increased with 1-SD over time had a decrease in LVEF of 1.6 (-2.7;-0.5) %.

Conclusion

Our study did not show consistent associations of LGI and ED with echocardiographic measures. Some evidence of effect modification by sex was present for ED and specific biomarkers.
Evaluation of potential COVID-19 recurrence in patients with late repeat positive SARS-CoV-2 testing
Authors: Peltan Ithan D. , Beesley Sarah J. , Webb Brandon J. , Lopansri Bert K. , Sinclair Will , Jacobs Jason R. , Brown Samuel M.
Published: May 2021

Background

SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and reactivation has mostly been described in case reports. We therefore investigated the epidemiology of recurrent COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2.

Methods

Among patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 between March 11 and July 31, 2020 within an integrated healthcare system, we identified patients with a recurrent positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay ≥60 days after an initial positive test. To assign an overall likelihood of COVID-19 recurrence, we combined quantitative data from initial and recurrent positive RT-PCR cycle thresholds—a value inversely correlated with viral RNA burden— with a clinical recurrence likelihood assigned based on independent, standardized case review by two physicians. “Probable” or “possible” recurrence by clinical assessment was confirmed as the final recurrence likelihood only if a cycle threshold value obtained ≥60 days after initial testing was lower than its preceding cycle threshold or if the patient had an interval negative RT-PCR.

Results

Among 23,176 patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, 1,301 (5.6%) had at least one additional SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCRs assay ≥60 days later. Of 122 testing positive, 114 had sufficient data for evaluation. The median interval to the recurrent positive RT-PCR was 85.5 (IQR 74–107) days. After combining clinical and RT-PCR cycle threshold data, four patients (3.5%) met criteria for probable COVID-19 recurrence. All four exhibited symptoms at recurrence and three required a higher level of medical care compared to their initial diagnosis. After including six additional patients (5.3%) with possible recurrence, recurrence incidence was 4.3 (95% CI 2.1–7.9) cases per 10,000 COVID-19 patients.

Conclusions

Only 0.04% of all COVID-19 patients in our health system experienced probable or possible recurrence; 90% of repeat positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCRs were not consistent with true recurrence. Our pragmatic approach combining clinical and quantitative RT-PCR data could aid assessment of COVID-19 reinfection or reactivation by clinicians and public health personnel.
Factors Influencing Undergraduate Software Engineering Course Choice Among Students
Authors: Barros de Sales André , Meyer Soares Paula , Da Silva Evangelista Tatiane
Published: May 2021

This article examines the factors influencing the students that attendthe Gama Faculty at the University of Brasilia when choosingthe Software Engineering Undergraduate Course. Exploratory researchand quantitative approach. The data were collected througha questionnaire applied to 61 incoming undergraduate students whowished to attend the referred undergraduate course in November2019. The results revealed that the choice of the Software Engineeringcourse is related to the students’ affinity with the profession,but the financial compensation and the employability also influenceon the course choice. The results also revealed that the choice ofthe University of Brasilia institution is mainly related to reputation,quality of teaching, student recommendation and employability,due to the institution’s name.
Modelo de um Software Robô para Ações Automáticas no Jogo de MMORPG Tibia
Authors: Aparecido Dim Cleyton , Pereira Mota Marcelle , Martins Feitosa Rafael , Magalhães de Morais Jefferson
Published: May 2021

This paper presents the model of a robot software capable of doingsome functions inside the online role-playing game Tibia automaticallywhile avoiding the Battleye anti-cheating system and showcountermeasures that can help Battleye and Tibia developers, aswell as developers of similar games to prevent this type of bot fromsurpassing their anti-cheating system. Among these functions arethe hunting, the healing, and the looting. Specifically, there is anexplanation of the game’s mechanics and how the robot surpassesthe anti-cheating system by analyzing the game screen and simulatingmouse and keyboard functions, without doing any memoryinjection or memory reading. The evaluation of the bot was doneduring six months on ten accounts with different variables suchas the character’s vocation, daily playing time, account status, andwhether the character is hunting in the same place every day orvariation occurs.
3D Perception for Autonomous Mobile Robots Navigation Using Deep Learning for Safe Zones Detection: A Comparative Study
Authors: Manfio Barbosa Felipe , Santos Osório Fernando
Published: May 2021

Computer vision plays an important role in intelligent systems, particularly for autonomous mobile robots and intelligent vehicles. It is essential to the correct operation of such systems, increasing safety for users/passengers and also for other people in the environment. One of its many levels of analysis is semantic segmentation, which provides powerful insights in scene understanding, a task of utmost importance in autonomous navigation. Recent developments have shown the power of deep learning models applied to semantic segmentation. Besides, 3D data shows up as a richer representation of the world. Although there are many studies comparing the performances of several semantic segmentation models, they mostly consider the task over 2D images and none of them include the recent GAN models in the analysis. In this paper, we carry out the study, implementation and comparison of recent deep learning models for 3D semantic image segmentation. We consider the FCN, SegNet and Pix2Pix models. The 3D images are captured indoors and gathered in a dataset created for the scope of this project. Our main objective is to evaluate and compare the models’ performances and efficiency in detecting obstacles, safe and unsafe zones for autonomous mobile robots navigation. Considering as metrics the mean IoU values, number of parameters and inference time, our experiments show that Pix2Pix, a recent Conditional Generative Adversarial Network, outperforms the FCN and SegNet models in the
Projeto de Extensão como Exercício Interdisciplinar das Técnicas de Análise e Desenvolvimento de Sistemas: Estudo de Caso
Authors: Augusto Alberto Moreira de Abr Alexandre , Fagundes Barbosa Denilson , Paula Carneiro Alessandra
Published: May 2021

One of the difficulties faced by students of the Technology Coursein Systems Analysis and Development is the integration of the knowledgeacquired in the course for application in the developmentof real systems. This work assesses the use of extension projects tofill this gap, based on a case study of a real project carried out bystudents at IFSC campus Canoinhas, under the coordination of theauthors of this work. The extension project aimed to develop aninformation system for managing patients treated by a cancer supportorganization named Associação dos Pacientes Oncológicos daRegião de Canoinhas (APOCA). The main result obtained with therealization of this case study, in addition to the direct benefits to thecommunity, was the proof of the efficiency of extension projects assupport for integration and interdisciplinarity, from the perceptionof the students themselves.
Desafios de Pessoas Idosas na utilização de Smart TVs: avaliando a comunicabilidade do NET Now
Authors: Scorsatto Brezolin Carmen , Wolf Bona Fernando , Elui Cardoso Telcio , Silveira Milene , Sales Afonso
Published: May 2021

The increase in the number of users of the Smart TVs has been veryfast: just between 2016 and 2017, there has been an expansion ofmore than 7 million users. At the same time, considering the globalestimates referring to the increase of longevity, it can be predicteda gradual increment of elderly people utilizing these devices in thecoming years, which highlights the importance of perfecting theirquality of use. In this context, the objective of the present study isto evaluate what are the main challenges elderly people face whileusing Smart TVs, focusing on a specific application, known as NETNow. To conduct this study, the focus was on the quality of useof communicability, analysed through the application of two evaluationmethods: the Semiotic Inspection Method, applied by oneevaluator, and the Communicability Evaluation Method, applied tosix participants aged between 60 and 80 years. It has been observedthat both methods indicated problems related to different communicabilitybreakdowns, emphasizing the importance of this kindof evaluation in order to improve the quality of use of interactivesystems.
Identificação de Pragas e Doenças na Cultura da Soja por meio de um Sistema Computacional em Linguagem Natural
Authors: Roque e Faria Carolinne , Renata Sachs Camerlengo de Barb Cinthyan
Published: May 2021

Technology is becoming expressively popular among agribusiness producers and is progressing in all agricultural area. One of the difficulties in this context is to handle data in natural language to solve problems in the field of agriculture. In order to build up dialogs and provide rich researchers, the present work uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to develop an automatic and effective computer system to interact with the user and assist in the identification of pests and diseases in the soybean farming, stored in a database repository to provide accurate diagnoses to simplify the work of the agricultural professional and also for those who deal with a lot of information in this area. Information on 108 pests and 19 diseases that damage Brazilian soybean was collected from Brazilian bibliographic manuals with the purpose to optimize the data and improve production, using the spaCy library for syntactic analysis of NLP, which allowed the pre-process the texts, recognize the named entities, calculate the similarity between the words, verify dependency parsing and also provided the support for the development requirements of the CAROLINA tool (Robotized Agronomic Conversation in Natural Language) using the language belonging to the agricultural area.
Localização e Mapeamento On-line de Ambiente Interno para Pessoas com Deficiência
Authors: Joel Justavino Arauz Edgar , Maria da Rocha Fernandes Anita , Delcio Parreira Wemerson
Published: May 2021

In Brazil, there are more than 6.5 million people with some visualimpairment. The total or partial loss of vision can cause a significantimpact on the lives of these people. The cane is now the mostwidely available resource accessible to assist the locomotion ofthese individuals. However, it is a limited resource. Once it cannotclassify the objects found, it only detects their existence. This workcontributes to new discussions on location and online mappingon the theme of Assistive Technologies. We developed a systemthat enables users to classify environments, promoting localizationthrough context science. Our solution uses images captured by awebcam, computer vision techniques, and probabilistic analysis.We evaluated on objective metrics showing satisfactory results.
DIMI: Detecção Inteligente de Botnets Mirai em Redes IoT
Authors: Raiane Santos Araujo Cruz Antonia , Lopes Gomes Rafael , Porto Fernandez Marcial
Published: May 2021

The emerging usage of Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm brings,together with new services, new threats to Information Security.Among these threats, we have the Mirai Botnet that performed severalDistributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattacks, exploringthe vulnerabilites of IoT devices. Within this context, this paperpresents a mechanism for detecting Mirai botnet attacks on IoTnetworks using ML techniques and comparing different approaches.The mechanism was evaluated using a set of traffic data from realIoT devices, achieving results with 99 % precision in detecting MiraiBotnet attacks.
Aceleração de hardware em sistemas embarcados para aprendizado de máquina utilizando KNN em FPGA
Authors: Berbert Wanderson , Bertini Luciano , Copetti Alessandro
Published: May 2021

Aprendizado de máquina tem se tornado uma ferramenta essencialpara qualquer sistema de tomada de decisão. Devido a limitaçõesde performance impostas por arquiteturas tradicionais que utilizamCentral Processing Units (CPUs), para aplicações mais críticas, métodosde aceleração com Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) e ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) têm sido empregados. No entanto,quando aplicadas a sistemas embarcados, estas apresentam limitaçõesrelacionadas a tamanho físico e complexidade. Para resolverestes problemas, a utilização da tecnologia Field Programmable GateArray (FPGA) tem se mostrado promissora devido a sua grande eficiência,paralelismo real, reconfigurabilidade e flexibilidade. Diantedisso, este estudo tem como objetivo, além de fazer uma revisãoaprofundada da bibliografia, apresentar arquiteturas projetadasem FPGA que buscam minimizar tais limitações, maximizando aeficiência, sem perda de performance significativa e de modo a viabilizarsua utilização em sistemas embarcados. Resultados mostramganhos em performance acima de 95% quando utilizando um hardwareespecialista desenvolvido em FPGA utilizando o algoritmo deaprendizado de máquina K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN).
W/B Planner -Solucionador para Roteamento de Veículos no Transporte Fretado de Passageiros
Authors: Luciano Roesler Rese Alex , Bortoluzzi Fabricio , Hugo Fagundes Wachsmann Victor , Ballottin Martins Rafael
Published: May 2021

Companies of chartered transport of passengers need to manage routes with boarding points, based on the location of the passengers. As the number of routes grow, the task of manually manage and optimize routings becomes inviable. The vehicle routing problem characterizes inside this scenario, branching into specific problems, that need different solutions for each case. Meta-heuristics are usually used to build solver algorithms for these problems. Constraint programming was chosen for helping build the solver. The main objective of the work was, to develop a system performing the solution of routings in an automatized way, by utilization of constraint programming and meta-heuristic algorithms. To minimize transport costs, travel time, and maximize the use of vehicles in an efficient and planned manner. The tests were carried out in conjunction with a routing administrator, to validate the use of the application within the research field. From the evaluations made, they demonstrated the utility of the software within its purpose. Of which it was observed that the product of this research, helped in the construction of an automated fleet consulting tool, being able to dynamically point out the distribution and operationality of a fleet of chartered vehicles in the transportation of passengers.
Ferramentas e recursos disponíveis para reconhecimento de fala em Português Brasileiro
Authors: De Lima Matheus , Coelho Bruna , Takigawa Fabrício
Published: May 2021

Speech recognition allows natural communication between the humansand machines. With Industry 4.0 there is a great demand forsystems that perform this task, since human-machine integrationsare increasingly attractive. Currently, there are several tools and resourcesthat perform this activity, with some companies providingtheir audio recognition services through the Application ProgrammingInterface, such as Microsoft, Google, IBM and Wit. On theother hand, there are offline libraries and open source that can alsobe explored like Vosk. Each company has its business rule and itsspecificity, in this sense it is difficult to know which is the most interestingfor each situation. Thus, a comparison was made betweenspeech recognition services in terms of usability, limitation andprecision. In the comparison, speech recognition performance metricswere used in a set of audios, using the programming languagePython.
Definindo um Sistema de Monitoramento em Tempo real para o Transporte Público da Cidade de Manaus
Authors: De Sousa Brito Matheus , Bruzaca de Souza Diego , Victor Bastos Rezende Luís , Fortes Marques Gabriel , Silva Fernandes Priscila , Bremgartner da Frota Vitor , Rivero Luis
Published: May 2021

The management of public transportation suffers from the difficultyof predicting population growth and consequently meet its demandsin terms of quality and safety. With regard to safety, several computersystems have emerged to help prevent and treat transportproblems, such as detour of routes and speeding. However, in thecontext of the Manaus city, these systems cannot: (a) detect specificobjects (firearms, knives, among others) to identify assaults; and (b)identify overcrowding in means of transportation. The inclusion ofthese functionalities with the above mentioned ones may allow accessto more information to subsidize decision making and improvethe quality of security offered by the public transportation service.This article presents a proposal for an intelligent system to monitorthe safety of a bus related to the above mentioned points. In orderto raise the requirements and propose the graphical interface of thesystem, the techniques of benchmarking and focus group were used.The prototype presented allows simulating how the informationwould be presented to those responsible for monitoring the bus,in addition to generating reports for monitoring the history of themeans of transport and to support decision making regarding thesafety of passengers and servers.
Facial Landmark Annotation and Fuzzy Model to Detect Players’ Focus
Authors: Steffens Henrique Alisson , Walter Gonzalez Clua Esteban , Lyra Rodrigo , Maria da Rocha Fernandes Anita , Luis Scaranto Dazzi Rudimar
Published: May 2021

Game Analytics is an important research topic in digitalentertainment. Data log is usually the key to understand players’behavior in a game. However, alpha and beta builds may need aspecial attention to player focus and immersion. In this paper, wepropose t he us e of player’s focus detection, through theclassification of pictures. Results show that pictures can be usedas a new source of data for Game Analytics, feeding developerswith a better understanding of players enjoyment while in testingphases .